The Thirteen Tailed Beast
by Kiba Fenrisulfur
Summary: My life has been nothing but torture since the day I turned three. My parents dead. My first mate, dead. My deputy a traitor, and some of my closest friends as well. My children flee with me as my brothers take me somewhere where my secrets can be safe. I know this is wrong, but why does it feel so right? Yaoi will be here. Also Mild Swearing at times.
1. The Betrayal and The Meeting

(**She is only three in human years and in her home village it is not uncommon to find a mate by the age of three. Also she did NOT have the kids as a human she gave birth in one of her animal forms)**  
~**Kiba**  
Darkness surrounds me. It seems that no matter where I go the darkness follows. No matter how much I fight it that's all the people of my home village see in me. They don't see the little girl who is alone without a friend, but when I walk around in a different form they see someone who is strong and stands up for others. I pity them because they are too stupid to see the real me the friends that I have in this form are people who mock and laugh at the girl I really am. My sensei's says that they are jealous of me because I am already a Jounin and am a great leader. For now my life is something that I am more than happy to be in because I am the youngest leader in the history of my clan and of my village. I have the pleasure of watching my children growing up strong and I have my mate by my side.  
*Time skip*  
"We mustn't let the chosen one be injured my friends we must protect her," a red haired warrior cried out as he decapitated an enemy. A fire raged in the background casting light on a gruesome seen. The fighting continued as a figure slipped out of the burning house in a cloak. It skillfully avoided the fight and met up with three other cloaked figures before they fled toward the gates of the city. They ran as fast as they could but five lionesses appeared before the fleeing figures blocking their escape route. Two of them had tear stains on their faces and the others had a deep anger in their eyes. They stood there and glared at the figure that had run from the burning house.  
"Step back please," the figure requested, but the lionesses just growled deep in their throats. "Please let us pass I don't want to hurt you guys," the figure requested one more time trying to get the lionesses to back down. This just caused the two with the tear stained fur to roar in fury at it. The figure gave them a look that said "I'm sorry" and remover the hood revealing two very dark red eyes that put all of them in a genjutsu. "I'm sorry," I whispered before putting my hood back on and continued on our way.  
"Where do you think you're going demon?" a boy, about the age of seven, asked after appearing in a cloud of smoke.  
"You! Teme! How dare you show your face to her after what you did," the cloaked figure who was standing next to me yelled at my ex-deputy. I knew from the voice that it was my mate, Bloodtigerheart. I clenched my fists knowing that we wouldn't be able to get by him as easily since he knew about my Sharingan eye. I took a deep breath and relaxed my body.  
"Oh, don't worry she won't have to look at me for long because I'm going to kill her right here and now," he said glaring at me like I was some piece of dung that had been thrown at him. He suddenly launched himself at us and we barely had time to react before he connected with my mates' jaw sending him backwards and away from us. He threw another punch, at me this time, and I ducked under it seconds before it would have made contact with my jaw. I delivered a few quick punches to his abdomen before jumping back and away from him. He dropped to the ground holding his abdomen with a grunt of pain. I rushed over to my mate and gently lifted him up to his feet.  
"Thanks love." I smiled at him and we continued on our way to the gate. Just as I put my foot onto the other side we heard a whistling sound. I turned around and saw a katana coming right at me and I tried to drop to the ground and found that my body wouldn't respond to my orders. I closed my eyes when the katana was less than a foot away from me. I waited for the pain of the sword piercing my skin, but it never came. I fearfully opened my eyes to see that Bloodtigerheart had taken the blow for me. I stared at him in shock and he just smiled at me before he started to fall forward.  
I caught him as he fell forward and held him to me as his life slowly drained away. "I l-love you too much to see you die here. Please run and take care of our young children," he whispered to me before taking a shaky breath and coughing up blood on my cloak. "Please my love. Take this opportunity and escape." I just stared at him and let the tears flow down my face. I felt him gently push me away into the waiting arms of one of my older brothers, before he turned around and charged at my ex-deputy who had a smug look on his face. My brothers took off before I could see what had happened, but I knew that my mate was dead when the link between us broke.  
[A few months later in the desert of Suna]  
"I won't let you hurt him," I said running at some people who where bullying a small red haired boy.  
"You're going to protect him?" the boy yelled at me.  
"Yes. Tell me what has he done to deserve this? Well I'm waiting for an answer," I said glaring at the other children for hurting him.  
"Don't you know? That thing is just a monster! It's not human!" another kid shouted at me. I was taken aback by what he said because it made me think of the time that my mate stood up for me.  
"So what?" I asked the others who looked at me in shock."I don't see a monster. I see a child and if you don't leave him alone I'll make you," I said with my arms thrown open to protect the boy with a hard look in my eyes. The one that appeared to be the leader had a hesitant look in his eyes before it hardened and he threw a punch at me. I caught the punch before it could make contact. The boy was really surprised to see that I had caught his punch and hadn't given any sign that I was going to block it.  
"Big mistake kid," I growled out before I let loose a howl. The others looked confused before they heard an answering howl that was close by. I smirked at the kids as they shook with fear when they heard a roar join the howl.  
"L-let's get outta here," one of the girls said before she turned and fled. The others soon followed her example and took off. The lead boy looked terrified that I was going to keep him there and let whatever was coming get him. I looked at him in disgust and let go of his hand and watched as he fled from the playground. I turned around and looked at the boy who was crying into his arms.  
I frowned and walked over to him before asking,"Hey are you all right?" He looked up at me startled that I was talking to him. "Hey it's all right. I scared away the mean kids," I said giving him one of my real smiles.  
"Y-you're not g-going t-to r-run away a-are y-you?" he asked me with a scared look in his eyes.  
"Of course not silly. Besides you're the first person in this village that I don't hate already," I said ruffling his hair in a friendly way.  
"R-really?"  
"Yeah. I look at you and see someone who wants a friend." He looked at me for a second shock clearly showing on his face. He opened his mouth to say something when I heard a soft thump and heard him gasp. I quickly turned around and launched myself onto the intruder, pinning him in a few seconds.  
"You really need to work on your speed and stealth," I said playful to the animal I had just pinned to the ground. I got off and walked back to the boy, while the animal got up from the ground shaking its fur.  
"W-what is that?" the red head stammered. The animal stood and shook off its coat revealing black fur with one white forepaw and blood red eyes just like mine.  
"That's Bloodeyes, a very powerful friend of mine, who also happens to be a wolf. No Bloodeyes he isn't the reason that I called you here," I said with a smile at the wolf. The kid gave me look that asked "Are you crazy?" I gave a laugh and said," I can understand animals. So you don't have to give me that look." His face just changed to say "O" and I gave another laugh.  
"Come on it's starting to get dark let's get outta here," I said extending my hand to help the kid up. He took it, albeit after a little hesitation, and I pulled him to his feet. We started walking away from the playground. I walked next to him until we came to the road that led out of the town. I stopped and said a quick good-bye before turning to head up the road that to the gate.  
"W-wait! Where are you going?" he asked giving me a funny look.  
"I'm heading back to my house," I lied.  
"No you're not. You're heading out of the village aren't you?" I looked at him stunned that he knew I wasn't really headed home.  
"How did you know?" I asked narrowing my eyes at him.  
"That's the only way in or out of the village," he said like it was obvious.  
"So what if I'm going out of the village it's not like it would matter," I said turning my back to him and walking away.  
"Well I guess you're right. I mean look at what you did today. You summoned a wolf to aid you and saved me from those mean kids, so I guess it won't matter. But at least tell me what your name is before you go," he said as I walked away. I stopped and looked back at him.  
"My name is Whitetigerstar. What's yours?" I replied to his question.  
"I'm Gaara. Can we meet again tomorrow?" he asked. I thought about it before I turned around and gave him a smile and a nod of my head. He smiled and turned around to head home.  
(((2 years later)))  
"Gaara I have to leave the village," I said without looking at him.  
"W-why? Is it something I did?" he asked me pain clear in his voice and tears in his eyes.  
"W-WHAT! No! Gaara you didn't do anything. It's just that my brothers have some business to take care of and I don't know when I'll see you again," I lied. "Listen can you close your eyes for a sec I have a surprise for you." He gave me a worried look, but hesitantly closed his eyes. I walked behind him and removed a necklace from my neck and put it around his neck.  
"Okay you can open your eyes" He opened them and looked down at the necklace with a confused look on his face. I rolled my eyes and gave a small laugh at his look. "This is a special necklace that will protect you when you're in trouble," I told him. He smiled at me and gave me a hug.  
"Thanks, Whitetigerstar. But how will I know that you're the real you the next time we meet?" he asked looking me in the eye. I hesitated for a moment trying to decide whether I should or shouldn't tell him. I finally shook my head with renewed determination and put my hands on the spiked chocker that I wore around my lower neck. His eyes widened when he saw the black marks (on the right) and the white marks (on the left) on my neck  
"Gaara if I have theses stripes on my neck and I can prove that secret power that I shared with you then you'll know that it's the real me," I said with complete seriousness in my voice. He smiled and nodded his head saying he understood. I smiled and gave him one more hug before I ran out the gates to catch up with my brothers. '_Gaara I promise that I will return to you someday_' I thought to myself.


	2. More Family, New Friends, and More Pain

(("Speech" 'thoughts' '**thought speech**'))  
(Age: 6-7)  
[Forest Surrounding Konoha]  
_sniff_... A wolf stood sniffing the air trying to find the scent trail. _Rustle...rustle _Leaves fall from the tree above the wolves' head. The wolf appears to be frustrated and tries to follow the chakra trail. The wolves' blood red eyes widen and it takes off heading away from the village.  
{? POV}  
I watched the wolf as it tried to find my scent. I knew that the moment it found me it would strike. I jumped from the tree that I had been hiding in to another tree. I watched as the wolf looked about and took the opportunity to study my opponent. He had black fur and one white sock on its left foreleg. I watched it look around one more time before its eyes widened and it took off away from the village and me. Once it was gone I breathed a sigh of relief and jumped down from my hiding spot. I winced as I landed on my right leg. I knew that I had hurt it when I had fled from the crazy fan girls that were chasing me earlier. I felt something roll down my leg and leaned against the trunk of the tree for support. I was breathing heavily and the next thing I knew I was falling forward. Before I could hit the ground an orange and black striped pelt caught me. I felt myself being turned over and the last thing I saw were two blood red eyes filled with worry looking at me and then darkness surrounded me.  
{My POV}  
I was walking through the forest, collecting healing herbs, alongside my youngest daughter Tigerpaw, when my oldest son came running up to us.  
'**MOTHER! There is a boy up ahead who's hurt pretty badly' **he said to me.  
"How far up ahead?" I asked worry clear o my face.  
'**About one hundred meters' **he replied.  
"Okay go tell the others and we'll go on ahead to help him," I said taking off into the direction his scent was coming from. I ran as fast as I could and heard Tigerpaw running after me. When we got there the boy was falling forward. Thankfully Tigerpaw was able to catch him before he could hit the ground. I rushed to his side and very carefully turned him over and saw him pass out.  
"Tigerpaw make a place for me to lie him down on after I heal him and then come and watch so you can learn how to do this," I asked her in a calm voice. She just nodded her head and started to make a mat out of the grass and leaves for me to lie him down on. I very gently laid the young boy on the ground and made the hand sign for darkness and light so that I could check his wounds. After I finished the hand signs a ball of white light appeared in my left hand and I sent this light to run over his body. Whenever it found a wound it would stop and turn a shade of red to signal how bad the wound was. When it got to his right leg it turned the color of blood and I knew that he had a broken leg at the least.  
"Tigerpaw can you go and rip two very straight tree limbs off a tree so I can mend his leg?" I asked my youngest daughter who smiled and purred a yes to my request. When she returned I had her help me set the leg correctly and I performed the hand signs for my healing jutsu. My hands became surrounded in a blue color to match his chakra and speed the healing process. As his leg finished healing my brothers appeared and watched me gently lay the boy down.  
"Well it seems that we rushed over here for nothing," my eldest brother said. I shot a glare at him and returned my gaze to the now sleeping boy.  
"Knock it off, Tigerstar," My youngest brother whispered to Tigerstar. Tigerstar just rolled his eyes and continued to study the boy. I climbed the tree that the boy had been leaning against for support and returned my gaze to the boy. As I looked at him I figured he couldn't be more than six so we where about the same age. I also took the opportunity to analyze what he looked like. He had raven black hair, somewhat like mine, very pale skin, a dark blue shirt, and shorts. All in all he looked like my mother when it came to features.  
"Hey, sis, you want to go hunting with us or what?" my younger brother asked.  
"No, but thanks anyway, Faolan, "I replied with a shake of my head," I'm going to set up a fire though so I can cook for the kid." Faolan shrugged and headed off deeper into the forest along with Tigerstar and a few of my sons and daughters.  
***Time Skip***  
I was asleep in the tree that I had been sitting in the night before when I heard growling. I sat up and looked down at the camp site. I saw a man with white hair reading a book and talking to my brothers, who had their hands on their weapons. I also saw Bloodeyes, Wolfspirit (both male wolves), Iceeyes, and Bloodtiger (both female tigers) standing ready to protect the boy from yesterday from the ninja.  
{Kakashi's' POV}  
I had been dispatched that morning to look for a missing child, who hadn't returned home the night before. I decided to start my search in the forest around the village since the kid obviously wasn't in the village. As I walked out the gates I noticed that the birds weren't chirping like they usually did on a good day like this. I jumped into a tree and started to head away from the village and deeper into the forest. I saw a clearing up ahead and noticed that there were quite a few wolves and tigers in the area and this put me on edge since wolves and tigers didn't mix well. Just as I decided to avoid them I saw the boy that I was looking for unconscious and lying in the midst of the group. I cursed my luck as I saw a pair of wolves and a pair of tigers stand and look ready to fight.  
I decided that it would be better if I just teleported over to the boy and took him when I noticed that the four animals were standing over the boy that I was here for.  
'**You may as well come out we know that you're here**' I heard. I looked around to find the person who said that and only saw the wolves glaring at me. 'I must be going insane. Wolves can't talk' I thought to myself.  
**'Actually we can talk just as well as your ninja hounds. By the way next time make sure that you wash your clothes before you go on a mission in the forest' **the voice growled inside my head. My eyes widened as I realized that these must have been ninja wolves or something along those lines. I sighed and walked out of the bush where I had been hiding. As soon as I walked out two ninja jumped up and joined the animals with their hands on their weapons.  
"Listen if you just give me the boy I'll let you walk out of here without hurting you," I said as I pulled out the latest copy of Icha Icha Paradise.  
"And how do we know that you're not an enemy ninja who's going to take this boy and hold him as a prisoner?" the boy with his hand on a katana asked.  
"Well how do I know that you didn't kidnap the boy for the same reason?" I retorted. He just growled at me and I heaved a sigh. "Listen I'll give you to the count of three and this will be over and then I'm leaving with the boy," I said snapping my book shut and launching myself at the one who had spoken. At the same moment the wolves launched themselves forward and blocked my attack and the other ninja stood and performed some quick hand signs and made a cloud of smoke envelope him. My kunai clashed with the first ninjas' katana and I jumped away. As I flew back the smoke around the other ninja cleared and in his place stood a weretiger and in the next second the first ninja had dropped a smoke bomb and when it cleared a werewolf stood in his place. The two growled at me before launching themselves at me. The werewolf struck first and I barely blocked his attack with my kunai before the weretiger stuck at me with his claws which I blocked with a different kunai.  
'Crap these two must be from the Village Hidden in the Legend' I thought as I mentally cursed my luck. I quickly aborted my first plan and instead made a direct line for my target. The wereanimals took off after me and I had to dodge the attacks of the regular animals so I had to stay focused. I jumped over the first wolf, who tried to bite my vest, spun to the right to avoid the second wolf, ducked under the first tiger, and dodged behind the second tiger just in time to avoid being clawed on the left side. Just as I was about to grab the child a weight landed on my shoulders and pushed me to the ground.  
"Next time make sure there are only as many enemies as you see before you attack," a feminine voice whispered in my ear. I looked to where the wereanimals were and saw that they had stopped their advance on me. 'Just who is this person on me' I thought to myself.  
{My POV}  
I looked over at my brothers and kids to make sure they were all right before returning my attention to the man beneath me. "Who are you and why do you want this boy?" I growled in his ear. I could smell the fear he as giving off and knew he was terrified that he was going to die here, but I also smelled acceptance of what was going to happen. "Answer me!" I growled louder next to his ear.  
"My name is something you don't need to know and as for that boy all you need to know is that he belongs in the Hidden Leaf Village and that if you don't give him back more ninja will come after you," He said to me.  
"Good answer," I chuckled as I got off him. He sat up and grabbed a kunai from his pouch then looked at me in shock. "Awe. What's the matter expecting someone older than me?" I chuckled at him. From the look he gave me he obviously was and this really got me to laughing. "God I love doing that way too much," I said causing my brothers to roll their eyes at my humor.  
"Well will you give me the boy back or do I have to go get reinforcements?" the strange man asked with a guarded expression. I rolled my eyes at his comment and laughed even more.  
"Please your whole village wouldn't be able to take me out, but then again I am here to talk to the Kage of this village if you would be so kind as to take me to him I'll explain what happened to him and only him," I said being completely serious.  
"And why would I do that?"  
He looked at me like I was crazy to think that anything I offered would be able to change what would happen. "Listen just take me to him and I'll tell him what happened and I'll tell my brothers to stay here along with most of the others. Agreed?" He looked thoughtful for a moment then nodded his head yes.  
"However you can only bring one of the others with you," he said at the end. I shrugged my shoulders and gestured to Tigerpaw that she was going to go with me. I went over and gently lifted the boy onto her back as my brothers morphed back into their human forms, not bothering with the smoke cloud technique.  
"I don't like this sis," Tigerstar said to me.  
"Well it can't be helped brother besides you knew that when we got here I was going to have to go in alone anyways," I replied to his concerned remark. He just sighed and resigned himself to the hard truth behind my words.  
"Well be careful at least." I just nodded my head and went to follow the ninja to the village. As I followed I kept my focus on him in case he tried any funny stuff. After a few minutes of running we made it to the village and we started to teleport to our destination so we wouldn't draw as much attention to ourselves. When we reached the Hokage Tower we were sent straight to the Hokage.  
"Hokage-sama may I speak to you alone," the ninja asked. The Hokage nodded and sent the others who were in the room out.  
"Alright we're alone now what is it, Kakashi?" he asked. I stepped forward and began the tale of how I found the boy and what had happened up until the time where I was standing in his office. The Hokage just sat through my tale his expression never changing.  
"As much as I want to believe you the only one who can prove you story is asleep on your tigers' back," he stated and went to wake the child. He gently shook the child awake and I watched as the child opened his eyes. I drew a sharp breath as I saw that he had black eyes just like my mothers.  
"You, boy what is your name?!" I demanded feeling tears gather in my eyes. The boy looked at me scared. "I said what is your name!" I said once again taking a step forward to make sure he knew how serious I was being.  
"M-my n-name's S-Sasuke U-Uchiha," the boy was able to stutter out. My eyes widened in shock. 'Could he be..? Well one way to find out' I thought to myself.  
"What is your mother's name?" I demanded once again. I felt something I hadn't felt since the day HE killed my family and forced me to leave my home.  
"Her n-name is M-Mikoto," Sasuke stuttered out. My red eyes grew even larger and I moved over to where he was and proceeded to crush him in a hug while I let my tears flow down my face.  
"Cousin. I didn't think I would ever be able to do this," I said hugging him tightly. Sasuke just stiffened at my confession as did the other two in the room.  
"Kakashi go to the Uchiha district and get Mikoto and tell her what happened here now," the Hokage told Kakashi. I just held my cousin and cried on his shoulder. A few minutes later the door to the office was thrown open as Mikoto and Kakashi came in. Mikoto just looked at m and rushed over to me.  
"I-is it really y-you M-mei-chan," Mikoto stuttered as she spoke to me. I looked at her and released Sasuke in favor of wrapping my arms around my aunt.  
"Y-yes O-oba-chan. I-I'm s-so s-sorry I couldn't save y-your Nii-chan," I stuttered out to my aunt. Mikoto just held me and gently rocked me back and forth until I had stopped crying.  
"Kakashi please leave us," Hokage-sama requested. I heard a poof and knew that he had left. "Now Mikoto you need to explain what this girl is talking about," he said to her.  
"No. It's my job to tell you what happened Hokage-sama, not Oba-chan's. After all I'm the one who failed in my duty as leader. I couldn't even protect my parents," I said my voice full of bitterness and resentment at what had happened. The Hokage looked at me in surprise and Mikoto just looked at me with regret in her eyes. After the Hokage had nodded his head for me to continue I told him of what had happened in my old village and how people I had trusted betrayed me and took my parents and mate from me, I made it a point to leave out what I had spent the last year doing though. At the end of my tale the Hokage gave me a look of sympathy and said he believed me.  
"Listen to me my Mei-chan you need to stop blaming yourself over what that boy did to you and you need to stop blaming yourself for my sisters' death," Mikoto said kindly to me. This just made me cry again and I whispered, "But I can never forget what happened Oba-chan."  
"Why not Mei-chan?"  
"Because I was supposed to be the next Kage of Densetsu Village," I said with more bitterness in my voice. I saw the Hokage's eyes widen in surprise, but Mikoto just looked at me hard.  
"Listen to me now. It's not your fault that your parents died whether you were going to be the Kage or not it just means that they did it to get to you," Mikoto said without taking her eyes off mine. I just looked at her in shock as her words sunk in.  
"You're right Oba-chan. I shouldn't blame myself but the people who were responsible for their death," I said after her words had sunk in. She smiled at me and I smiled back at her.  
"Alright now that that's finished. What do you want to do Whitetigerstar?" the Hokage asked me.  
"If you will allow it I would like to stay here as a ninja for Konohagakure if you agree, of course," I said to the Hokage.  
"Of course you can stay here but you will start at the bottom of your class along with everyone else," he said.  
"Actually I won't start at the academy until Sasuke starts. And as for my name from now on I'll go by Kiba Ulrika Fenrisúlfur," I said with determination shining in my blood red eyes. The Hokage just smiled at me in understanding and began to pull up the documents that Mikoto would have to sign in order for me to be allowed into the village.  
"May I have that Kakashi man as my god father in case something happens to you Oba-chan?" I asked as she got to the part about who the god father was. She just nodded and put down Kakashi's name. I smiled and went to stand with Tigerpaw and Sasuke. Sasuke smiled and took my hand in his and said it would be nice to have someone his age in the house. I smiled and was happy I had brought him some happiness after what had happened. After all the paper work was signed we left and I sent a message to my brothers saying they could return to Densetsu and their families. Then I went with my family knowing that soon enough I would have new friends as well.  
((One year later))  
A lot has happened in the last year. I started at the academy, alongside my cousins, Sasuke, Kiba-kun, and Neji, my two youngest kids earned their full names and are now named Wolfspirit and Tigerspirit, who is our official healer, and I have also advanced to the top of the class in just the first few months. I was also able to make a friend of the villages' Jinchuuriki, Naruto Uzumaki; we enjoy going and training after class and I don't really mind that he has a hard time learning new jutsus. In all honesty it reminds me of when I was first starting out. However, I was lucky because I had my family and sensei's. I was also able to befriend Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame, and Rock Lee. We usually gather together after school to train and learn from everyone.  
Then _it_ happened. I was late getting back to the Uchiha district that day and as soon as I stepped foot in the area I knew something was wrong. I could smell that something was off the farther I walked into the district then I realized what it was that I had been smelling. Blood. There was so much blood everywhere I looked there was blood and dismembered bodies. 'Sasuke' I thought to myself. '**Please Kami let my little cousin be alright. Please please**' I thought to myself as I felt something brush against my back. I growled and turned around only to find Dragonheart and Wolfspirit behind me. I must have been using the link without noticing because before I knew it more of my family started to line the roofs of the buildings.  
"Alright then I want you to split into groups of three and spread out. If you find Sasuke or the person who did this notify everyone and don't do anything stupid," I said with a small smile on my face as the ones who had the Sharingan eye activated it and began to join their respective groups. I activated mine as well and took off in the direction of Sasuke's house. I was followed by Dragonheart and Wolfspirit and needless to say we were beyond pissed at whoever did this. As we got closer to the house I heard a scream and instantly knew that whoever it was they were trying to hurt Sasuke. I barred my fangs and focused more of my chakra into my legs making me run faster than before. Right before I got there my little cousin came running out of the house followed by Itachi. I gave him one look and allowed my claws to show since I knew he had killed them. He killed them all. With every step forward my older cousin took the more blood thirsty I became and the more I wanted to defend my slightly younger cousin from him. When Itachi realized that I wasn't going to back down and believing that he had killed the whole clan he began to reach for his sword.  
"Don't even think about it," I was able to growl out. "I won't let you touch Sasuke or my family teme," I said in a calm and somewhat emotionless voice.  
"And you think you can stop me little cousin? You honestly think you could stop the head of Konohas' ANBU's?" he laughed at my stupidity. I just laughed at him I knew that he didn't have it in him to kill me or his brother no matter what he said, but I also laughed because I knew that if he tried to kill me I would have already killed him before he had his sword out of its' sheath. He just looked at me with tears in his eyes and tried to attack me with his Mangekyou Sharingan technique. I looked him in the eye and saw what he was showing Sasuke, but because my Sharingan was stronger I felt what Itachi felt with every image he showed Sasuke. I knew that he thought I was just seeing what he was showing Sasuke and I pretended that it was unbearable to watch and then I created a clone of me and Sasuke and put Itachi in a genjutsu that made him think we were still in the vision. At that point I broke the attack on Sasuke and me and picked him up. I started running into town I knew there was only one ninja that I could trust after what had just happened. 'Oh Kami let him be home and not on a mission' I thought as I ran with my crying cousin in my arms. I got to the fairly large house and banged on the door a couple of times before he opened up.  
'Kiba-chan? What are you doing here? AND WHY ARE YOU HERE AT 2 AM?" the white haired ninja asked.  
"Sorry Kakashi-sensei but you said that if it was an emergency that I could come here for your help. And well obviously it's an emergency," I said as I walked into his house and set Sasuke down on one of the guest beds. After that was done I explained to Kakashi what had happened and asked if I could leave Sasuke in his care for a few hours so I could go and make sure that my clan mates were safe and uninjured. He agreed and I left immediately while thanking him profusely.  
I ran from Kakashi's house to the area were we agreed to meet in case something really bad happened that called for the whole clan to come out in force. When I arrived I was greatly relieved to see that there weren't any serious injuries. I told everyone to stay on guard and returned to Kakashi's.  
"AHHHHHH!" I heard the yell come from the direction of Kakashi's and figured that Sasuke had woken up. When I got there I found Kakashi arguing with Sasuke through the bathroom door about whether he could be trusted. As I walked in the door Kakashi stepped back letting me take over.  
"Hey Sasuke," I whispered through the door.  
"K-Kiba-chan? W-why are y-you h-here?" Sasuke stuttered out making it obvious that he was crying pretty hard.  
"Sasuke, I'm here because I knew that if we came here we would be safe. Now will you please come out?" I asked him concealing the pain and just showing the concern for my cousin.  
"N-no. I w-want m-mom," he stuttered again.  
"Oh Sasuke. I-I'm so sorry but I-I wasn't able to get there in time t-to save her. You probably think that if you had been there that your parents would still be here now, right?" I stated with emotion in my voice. Silence greeted me before the door flew open and Sasuke flung himself at me crying his eyes out. "Listen I-I know i-it hurts a lot b-but you have to remember that no matter what I will be here for you. Whether you need a shoulder to cry on or just someone to talk to I'll be there, even if I'm in another land I'll be there because of the mental bond we share," I gently whispered to the boy.  
I sat there for Kami knows how long until he stopped crying and fell asleep. I put him back in the room where he was when he woke up and left to go to the rooftop. I just sat there and cried because I knew that I had failed to protect the people I loved. I stayed like that until the moon began to set and then I let loose a long and mournful howl. I howled until the sun had risen in the sky and I knew that my family had stayed up all night in respect for the dead. This went on for a week or so and then Sasuke and I returned to the Uchiha district and we stayed in a new house that was specially built to house me and my clan. We never went to check on the other houses because we knew that it would destroy us if we did.  
So we went about our normal lives and everything went back to normal, to a certain degree anyway. Then one night Sasuke and I were out taking a walk through a part of the district that wasn't painful to look at when we heard loud rumbles in the air. I looked around and saw a friend of mine named Bloodwings descend from the sky and landed in front of us.  
"Why are you here old friend," I asked confusion in my voice. He didn't answer me with words instead he held up the necklace that I had given to Gaara. I gasped and said," Tell me everything that happened." He told me how Gaara's uncle had tried to kill him, how I was ordered by the Kazekage to be his friend and how I had never really cared for Gaara, and how he rejected my gift, Bloodwings, and me. He then told me that Gaara had sworn to kill me the next time he saw me.  
In that moment I felt something in me snap. "Sasuke. I-I need y-you to g-go to K-Kakashi and tell him what has happened. Bloodwings will go with you to make sure that you're safe," I choked out to the worried boy. He looked like he was about to refuse then he saw the pain that was on my face and took off as fast as he could in the direction of Kakashi's place. Bloodwings left a few seconds later.  
As soon as they were gone I let the rage take control. I felt my body grow larger, my face elongated, my arms and legs grew longer, and I felt my tail begin to grow. My teeth grew sharper than a kunai, as did my nails, and my pupil shrank to the size of an angry cats'. Finally I felt myself grow larger as two pitch black wings grew from my back and scales started to spread over my body. The last thing I remembered was destroying the half of the district where everyone was killed, setting a section of the forest on fire, and creating a clone so I couldn't be blamed for the damage before I let the beasts take control of my body and return to the hunt of the people who had harmed me when I was three.  
**(FYI Bloodwings, Dragonheart, and the form Kiba takes are dragons just in case that wasn't clear. Feel free to leave a comment.) ~Kiba**


	3. The Team and The Training

**(Note this is five years after when she destroyed half the district) ~Kiba-chan **  
(("regular speech" 'thoughts' '**thought speech**'))  
I was walking through the district on my way to the academy. I looked around at all the new houses that had been built in the time I was gone. I winced as I remembered that I was the reason that there were all these new buildings. 'I still can't believe that it's been five years since that night' I thought to myself as I passed the new training arena for my clan. For the first two years I went back to the old me. The one who wanted nothing, but to avenge her dead parents and mate. The funny thing was that with every kill I felt nothing, but happiness for that village because even though they had left to go to different villages they continued to be horrible people. In those years I rarely returned to the village and had a clone me taking all my classes. Of course because it was a clone I was able to see and hear what it did so I had memories of classes that coincided with the deaths of five traitors.  
"Hey Kiba-chan!" a boy with short green hair called out to me.  
"Hey Nachuraru. How was your weekend?" I asked the boy, giving him one of my real smiles.  
"It was good, but it would have been better if you had been able to stay longer," he replied. As he said that I grabbed his hand and intertwined our fingers.  
"You know that I would have stayed if I hadn't had that meeting," I said giving him a sad smile. I knew that he hated it when I had to go somewhere he couldn't. After all we have been together for the last three years and he was a part of the reason that I had stayed in Konoha training and working on our relationship.  
"I still don't think it's right that Sasuke got to go with you but I had to stay here waiting and scared that something was going to happen to you or him," Nachuraru said giving me a worried look. I stopped walking and pulled him into a hug.  
"I know that you don't like the fact that you have to stay hidden from them. And you know very well that Sasuke and I hate going to those meetings. I don't like leaving the village and having to take my deputy with me," I whispered in his ear.  
"I know I just don't like the fact that your _human _cousin goes with you on these missions," he said with a sigh.  
"Okay first you know that Sasuke has to go because he's my deputy and second we have this discussion after every full moon," I said. He just nodded his head knowing it was true. "Now come on or do you want to be late for the exams?" I asked giving him a serious look. He immediately perked up and we rushed to class so we wouldn't be late.  
When we got closer to the school we took separate routes to the school yard. This was normal for us, since neither of us wanted to deal with his fangirls. Well to be honest he just didn't want me to beat them to a bloody pulp. So we parted ways and I hung out around the outer wall waiting. After five minutes, everyone started to head in, but I held back hidden in the shadows. I waited for another five minutes before I made my way to Iruka-sensei's class. I slipped in unnoticed and leaned against the wall at the back of the class. Iruka just explained how we would be called into a separate room by ourselves and how it would be going by last names. 'Dang it. My last name starts with an F that means that I'll have to wait a while before Naruto and Sasuke finish the test' I thought to myself.  
After that I zoned out before I was brought back to reality by someone calling my name. I looked up and smiled at the blond in the orange and black jumpsuit that was currently calling out to me. He walked over and we started to make plans for after the exam. We talked until a ninja came in and called my name.  
"Hey good luck, Kiba-chan," the blond said as I turned to leave.  
"And good luck to you to Naruto. I'm sure you'll do fine," I said giving a chuckle at his comment.  
"Luck? Oh come on, Kiba-chan. A great ninja like me doesn't need luck," Naruto boasted.  
"Funny. I was just thinking the same thing," I whispered as I walked into the room with Iruka-sensei along with another ninja.  
"Alright Kiba-chan. For this exam you have to perform the clone jutsu and you pass," the ninja said. I nodded my head and started to perform the hand sign when a thought crossed my mind.  
"Will all the initiates have to perform the same jutsu?" I asked half way through building up my chakra.  
"Yes, Kiba-chan. Every initiate will perform the same jutsu," Iruka answered. I nodded and released the chakra I had built up.  
"Then I guess you'll have to count me as a fail, Iruka," I said giving my sensei a bow before moving towards the exit. The two sat there stunned for a second before Iruka called out to me.  
"K-Kiba-chan why would you pass up on this opportunity?" he asked curiosity in his eyes.  
"Because I would rather be a good friend than a genin," I aid with a smile. I continued on my way out when I felt a hand placed on my shoulder. I looked up to see the Hokage standing in front of me with a smile on his face. He grasped my hand and put a leaf headband in it.  
"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but I can't accept this headband. I didn't pass the exam," I said confusion in my eyes.  
"Ah, but you did your test was to see if you would leave behind your friend to pursue your own dreams, but you decided to stay behind just so he wouldn't be alone. That is what it means to be a leaf shinobi. I want you to keep this headband officially you passed with the highest score so far. However unofficially you can say whatever you want," he told me with kind smile.  
"Alright Hokage-sama. I'll make you a deal if Naruto passes this exam by himself I'll accept the headband otherwise I will fail alongside my friend," I said accepting the headband and sipping it into my pocket. He just smiled and nodded in agreement with what I had said. I smiled as well and continued out the door to wait for Naruto.  
"Hey look the demon is finally out here and she doesn't have a headband."  
"Good. Can you imagine what would happen if _she _passed?"  
I continued to walk past the people who were whispering about me. I walked until I got to the tree that was away from the group and climbed up until I wasn't able to be seen or heard. I sat there and listened to the whispers, until I heard a bunch of girls screaming their lungs out. I looked at the exit and saw my pale skinned cousin walking out of the building. His head snapped up at the scream and he actually got paler before he took off in the direction of our house. I knew that if Sasuke was done then I wouldn't have to wait much longer for Naruto.  
After a few more minutes I saw the blond haired boy walking out. He completely ignored the other kids and went straight to the swing under the tree that I was sitting in. I knew that he hadn't passed by the way he held himself and by his scent. It was full of sadness and disappointment. I hopped down and looked at him. He gave me a sad look before standing up and walking away with me. We walked until we made it to Ichiraku, here we sat down, and we ordered a couple owls of ramen each. We sat there and ate silently until Naruto broke the silence.  
"I-I'm sorry K-Kiba-chan, but I didn't pass I-I understand if you don't want to be my friend anymore," Naruto said.  
"Oh Naruto. I will always be your friend no matter what. I don't care about whether you're a genin or a student I will always be here for you," I said with a smile. He just looked at me like I was crazy.  
"But didn't you pass?"  
"No Naruto I didn't. I decided that I would rather be a student with you than leave you by yourself," I told him. Naruto just looked dumbstruck by my little speech and he just stared at me. We finished eating our ramen and I paid for the both of us. Naruto grabbed my hand and pulled me with him after we left the ramen stand. I followed him until we got to a clearing. He asked me to wait there and he went to get something. It hadn't been more than a few minutes before he returned with a very large scroll. He told me about how the other ninja, Mizuki, had said that anyone who could master one of the techniques in the scroll then they would automatically become a genin for the leaf. I said that I would help him train if I could learn the same technique, he agreed, and we started to train just like we did after school. We trained for a while the Iruka-sensei showed up and Mizuki tried to hurt Naruto, but I took the blow protecting both Naruto and Iruka. Then Mizuki told Naruto that he held the demon fox, Kyuubi within him, and Naruto ran off and I took off after him to keep him safe. We ran and hid, and after a short while we heard their voices, then Iruka said that Naruto wasn't like the demon fox and that Mizuki was the demon, then Mizuki threw his other weapon at Iruka, but Naruto and I stopped it before it could hit him. Then we both used the Shadow Clone Jutsu and beat Mizuki into a bloody pulp before Iruka gave Naruto his headband and I told Naruto that we had both passed and that I was hoping to be on the same team as him before I went home. When I got there I found Sasuke sitting at the tale with a worried look on his face and I told him I would tell him later and we went to our room and passed out on our beds.  
[Thenext morning]  
I turned on the stove and began to cook up some food for myself and Sasuke. As I cooked I heard Sasuke get out of bed and begin to head downstairs. He walked in rubbing his eyes the way he always does. It was moments like these that made me think of my parents and of his parents and how we would always make a large breakfast for everyone before we left for school of work.  
"Morning'," he said taking a seat at the table.  
"Good morning brother. So how did you do yesterday?" I asked as I set the food on the table and began to make myself a plate.  
"I passed easily," he said with a smirk on his face. I smiled and congratulated him before returning to my plate of food. We ate in silence for a bit before he asked me what had happened last night. I gulped and told him what had happened to Naruto and I in the forest, but I left out the fact that Naruto was the Nine tails vessel. I watched my cousin to see if he reacted to what I said. He only expressed his sorrow for Naruto's ordeal. Afterwards we went to the arena where I met up with Neji and practiced on my Taijutsu while Sasuke practiced on being able to store large amounts of chakra away for later. After a while Neji left to go on a mission with his team and Sasuke and I spent the rest of the day just hanging out. That night I didn't sleep and decided that I needed some fresh air so I went for a walk around the village. I met up with Nachuraru and we hung out and did our somewhat normal routine with each other. A kiss there and a blush on the others face. Once the sun started to rise we parted ways and I headed back to the district, but not before I gave my boyfriend a kiss and making him blush a dark shade of red. When I got back I found that Sasuke was already awake and was ready to leave. We headed to the academy together, for the last time, and this time I was able to walk with my cousin the entire time since no one else was there yet.  
"Well Sasuke. This is it, this is the day we learn who is on our team," I said before I continued to the back of the room. He just nodded in my direction showing me that he was worried about not being strong enough for his team. I just smiled and began to put my face back into the one that showed my enemies that I didn't are what they thought. After a few minutes other genin annunciates began to file into the room and many of them were whispering about me.  
'**How can you stand it Sis?**' Sasuke asked through our mental bond. Since we were related and he was my deputy a bond formed that allowed us to talk the same way that I talked with my children over long distances or just for convenience.  
'**Because I've had worse said about me by better people**' I answered.  
'**But doesn't it make you mad to hear them talk about you like that?'**  
'**No it doesn't. All it does is make me pity the weak fools**'  
'**I guess I never thought of it like that**' he said with a shake of his head. After that we blocked off our thoughts from the other. After a while Naruto came in and took a seat near the front of the class. I heard a loud noise coming from behind the door I was leaning on and knew that the two idiotic fangirls had arrived. I sighed and jumped away from the door and into the corner on the other side of the room.  
"Ha, Ino pig I beat you," a bubblegum pink haired girl said to a blond kunoichi.  
"No you didn't Billboard brow," the blond said to the other. Pretty soon they were talking to Sasuke and I could see that he wasn't comfortable with them staring and trying to get him to fall for one of them. I sighed looking at the ground, but I looked up when I heard the fangirls gasp. My mouth dropped open when I saw Naruto _kissing _Sasuke. After a second or two they broke apart and started to cough.  
"Naruto you idiot! I was supposed to be Sasuke-kun's~ first kiss," the pink haired girl yelled at the blond. Said blond didn't even notice the fangirls ganging up on him. After a few seconds Naruto was on the ground and Iruka-sensei decided that he was going to show up now.  
"All right settle down. I'm going to call out the teams and because of a request by the Hokage there will be one team of five," Iruka said before calling out the team names and who would be in them. "Team 7. Sakura Haruno...Naruto Uzumaki...Sasuke Uchiha...Nachuraru Shizen... and Kiba Fenrisulfur," Iruka called out. When he said that Naruto and Sakura were on the same team, Naruto looked happy and Sakura looked depressed, then Sakura was happy that Sasuke was on a team with her and Naruto was depressed. When he said Nachuraru was on the team everyone looked happy, but when he said that I was on the team the room went dead silent. Everyone looked to the back of the room and I looked back at them displaying no emotion what so ever on the outside, but on the inside I was bursting with joy.  
"Iruka-sensei, why does a great shinobi like me have to be on a team with someone like Sasuke?" Naruto asked directing the attention back to him and Iruka, which I was thankful for and made a note to thank the blond later.  
"Because, Naruto, the best of the class and the worst of the class has to be paired together to balance out the teams," Iruka explained to Naruto.  
"So, then Sasuke got the best score on the final, right," Sakura asked. Iruka just shook his head no. I snapped my head up and glared at him. 'What are you doing Iruka?' I asked myself narrowing my eyes at him.  
"Then Nachuraru got the best score, right?" Ino asked. Iruka just shook his head no again. "NO WAY! Are you saying that billboard brow got the highest score?" Ino asked sound outraged, while Sakura just looked smug. Iruka shook his head no again and then everyone focused their attention on my again. 'Oh Kami. If I get my hands on Iruka-sensei I'm going to throttle him' I thought to myself.  
"NO! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT THE DEMON GOT A BETTER SCORE ON THE FINAL THAN SASUKE!" Sakura yelled out giving me a glare. In the next instant she was flying across the room and Kiba-kun was standing there alongside Shino with his arm where she had been a second ago.  
"Don't you EVER call my cousin that in my presence again! Is that clear?" he growled out while Shino and Akamaru tried to hold him from doing anything else.  
"Kiba," I stated calmly. He turned around and faced me. "Let it go," I said as I pushed myself off the wall and into a standing position with my hands in my pockets.  
"Let it go!? You expect me to let it go after she just called you a demon, when she doesn't even know the real you?" he asks me with disbelief in his voice.  
"Yes I do because we both know that I've been called worse by better people and that if it _REALLY_ bothered me I would have put her through the wall myself," I said as I turned and walked out of the room. I knew that everyone is looking at me with a stunned expression. I just ignore them and keep walking.  
{Kiba-kun's POV}  
I looked at my cousin with disbelief as she left the academy. I felt something brush my leg and see that it's Akamaru. I bend down and pick him up before I look around at the other students.  
"You should all be ashamed of yourselves," I growled glaring at the people who had insulted my cousin and pushed her away. "I'm leaving to go find her. I hope I see you guys afterwards for training," I said to Naruto, Nachuraru, and Sasuke.  
"Don't bother Kiba. It will only make her madder if you go searching for her," Sasuke said grabbing my wrist. I looked at him and I knew that he was worried about her to.  
"Fine, but we should at least keep Neji from finding out what happened today. Otherwise we're going to have a really big problem," I said with a sigh.  
"Don't worry I'll go and calm her down," Nachuraru said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. I sighed again and started to make plans with Shino to spar after we met our team leader. As we spoke I heard a groan come from Sakura. I glanced over in her direction and wonder why Kiba-chan hadn't attacked her. The more I thought about it the more worried I became. Then I started to think about what was special about today.  
"Kuso," I said out loud when I realized what today was. Sasuke gave me a questioning look, but quickly hid it behind his emotionless mask. "Guys there isn't any practice today with Kiba-chan because today is the anniversary of that _thing_," I hissed out the last part. When I said that they realized what today was for our friend.  
"Kuso. I can't believe that I forgot what today was," Sasuke said. After that we all fell silent and I prayed she would forgive my stupidity. Sasuke left and we all drifted out of the room before Sakura could really come to her senses and try to attack us. I was, however, surprised that Iruka hadn't chewed me out for attacking a fellow leaf genin. As I left I looked over at him and noticed that he had a worried, but proud look in his eyes. I was confused, but decided it as better not to ask and left with Akamaru to go get something for lunch.  
{My POV}  
I sat on top of the Hokage tower and looked over the citizens of the village. I was depressed and excited at the same time.  
"Hey Kiba-chan," Nachuraru said as he teleported onto the roof. I gave him a sad smile and leaned back to look at the sky. Nachuraru just sat down beside me and watched the clouds with me. "Sorry about what happened today," he whispered in my ear after a few minutes. I looked at him with a face that said it wasn't what was bothering me. "So today marks the 9th year right?" he asked while learning over me to block out the sky.  
"Yes," I whispered as a tear slid down my face. I knew that it wasn't going to be easy to get through today, but I also knew that if I had my friends with me I would be alright. After a while I felt Nachuraru pick me up and pull me to his chest. I won't lie I was extremely grateful that he did that. Just that one action made me remember something that I had once heard said to a good friend of mine. 'A wound to the heart can only be healed with love' I thought to myself.  
This one thought brought a small smile to my face. I looked up at Nachuraru and gave him a quick kiss as a thank you. He blushed at the affection behind it and I gave a small smirk at his embarrassment. We stayed like this for a moment longer before we heard the swish of fur. We pulled apart just enough so that we could see who would interrupt our alone time. I saw that it was just Wolfspirit, Bloodeyes, Iceeyes, and Tigerspirit. I gave them a smile glad that they had accepted my offer that I had made earlier.  
"Hey I'm going to head back home real quick," I told them as I pulled away from my boyfriend. "No you can't come with me because you need to go and eat before you head back," I said as Nachuraru opened his mouth to offer to come with us. He just gave a smile and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment that he had forgotten something like that. I smiled at him and took off in the direction of my house with my four children right on my heels. We got there a few minutes later and I headed up to the room that I shared with Sasuke.  
I opened the door and saw him tied up on the floor. I smiled at the sight and thought about how many girls would kill to find Sasuke like this.  
'**Please untie me**' Sasuke asked through our mind link since he was gagged as well.  
"Well maybe I should leave you like this and tell your fangirls that you're all tied up at my place," I joked with him.  
'**You wouldn't**' he said as he stopped struggling against his bonds. I thought about it for a bit.  
"You're right I wouldn't. Mostly because they would ransack the house for anything of yours and accuse me of kidnapping you," I said as I walked over and pulled out a kunai and cut his ropes being extra careful not to cut his shirt or him. After a few more seconds I had the rope cut and Sasuke was free of his restraints. He got up and gave me a quick thanks and a hug. I smiled and left him to do whatever it was that he was going to do. I made it back to the classroom where we were meeting our team leaders and saw that I was the first one back. I smirked at my luck and decided that I was going to sit opposite the door along with the four who decided to stay with me.  
{Sasuke's POV}  
I walked towards the academy after I had finished my lunch and was thinking about what the blond could be doing with my body.  
"Hey Sasuke-kun~! I've been waiting for my old-fashioned boyfriend," Sakura said. I just ignored her comment about me being her boyfriend and looked around to see if Kiba-chan or Naruto had already been this way.  
"Come on recess is over. Where are Kiba-chan and Naruto?" I asked out loud.  
"You're changing the subject again! Can't we just forget about them for a minute?" she ask looking cross that I had brought them up. "Besides they're always getting between us," she said looking cross. I just ignored her and continued to look around for any sign that they had already been through here on their way to the academy. "It's because they were badly bought up! You...know because they never had any parents? They don't have to answer to anyone, EVER, and it's made them completely SELFISH! If I did the kinds of things those two do every day my parents would kill me," Sakura said. My eyes widened when she called them selfish and growl rose in my throat because I knew that this was the biggest lie I had ever heard. "Don't you envy them being alone, not having to answer to anyone? Kids without family always grow up selfish," she finished smugly. In the next second I had her pinned against a tree.  
"That and lonely," I growled out at her and watched s her eyes widened in shock that I was defending their actions. "Being scolded by your parents doesn't compare to the pain that comes with being alone," I growled.  
"...Wha. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" she asked with confusion on her face.  
"You... make me sick! And if you I EVER hear you talking about my cousin that way ever again I WILL make sure that her other cousins hear about it and will personally see to it that you get what you deserve," I said dropping her and walking away. "And next time you want to insult someone make sure that you have your facts straight," I yelled over my shoulder still mad about what she said.  
As I got loser I bumped into Naruto, we fought a little before his stomach started hurting, and when he ran to the bathroom I felt a strange pain in my chest. I pushed it away and went in the room.  
{My POV}  
I was dozing when I heard the door open and someone walked over to where I was sitting. I opened my eyes as I sensed the distress that was rolling off the person.  
"K-Kiba-chan what does it feel like to love somebody?" Sasuke asked. I just opened my mouth and left it like that for a second.  
"Well love is something that you feel in your heart. Take me for example whenever I think of the people I love I feel this need to protect them and make sure that they are happy. When I think of my previous mate or my mate right now I feel this pain in my chest that won't go away unless I'm around them, but that's mostly an alpha mate thing. And you shouldn't base anything on this because love can affect people in different ways. But why the sudden interest?" I finished, looking at my cousin in confusion.  
"I-I think I've fallen for someone," he whispered the last part. I looked at him hard for a few seconds before I opened up our link and felt the emotions that were going through him at that moment. I felt confusion, fear, happiness, hope, and sadness all at the same time, but the last emotion was the one that worried me.  
"Well I personally think that whoever you like is very lucky to have your affection," I said completely serious. Sasuke's head snapped up at my comment ad he just stared at me.  
"Do you really mean that, Sis?" he asked me worry obvious in his voice. I got off the table and pulled my younger cousin into a hug.  
"Yes, I do brother. And to be honest I hope the girl you like returns your feelings and isn't just another fangirl," I said in his ear.  
"Who ever said anything about a girl?" he asked with fear radiating off his body.  
"Really? Well that actually makes my life easier," I said as I pulled back enough to look him in the eyes.  
"What are you talking about?" he asked confused by my reaction.  
"I mean I wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of having some stupid fangirl as an in-law when they would just want you for your looks and not who you really are. Besides I think I know who you like," I said giving him a smile/smirk. His eyes widened in confusion as to how I could know who he liked. "Sometimes when you sleep you open the mind link and I can see your dreams. Oddly enough the few times this has happened you never remember the dreams the next day," I said answering his unspoken question. He just opened his mouth to say oh before we heard the door start to rattle. We quickly pulled apart and Sasuke put on his emotionless mask, while I let the real me out for the first time in public in years.  
The door opened to reveal Nachuraru surrounded by girls who were desperately trying to get his attention. He looked really uncomfortable and of course the girls just ignored what he wanted. I quickly got fed up with them getting so grabby of my mate and stood up and made my way towards the group. I slipped through the crowd without being noticed by the fangirls and was soon at the front of the group. Nachuraru noticed me right away and before the others could figure out who I was I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him into a passionate kiss. After a few seconds he kissed back and the girls just stared at us dumbstruck that it was that easy for me to kiss him. I pulled back and smirked at the light blush that covered his cheeks. I quickly teleported us back to where my bodyguards were. As soon as we appeared I pushed him against the wall and began to attack his mouth again. We stayed like that for a long time just kissing and making sure that everyone knew that he was mine and only mine. I smiled into our last kiss as we broke apart for air.  
"Okay Kiba. I think they got the point," Nachuraru whispered in my ear. I looked away from his red face and saw that some of the girls were starting to get angry about what I was doing.  
"I don't think I've made it clear enough for them just yet," I said as I returned my attention to attacking his lips.  
{Sakura's POV}  
I walked back to the class and thought about what Sasuke had said. I opened the door and saw most of the students blocking the door.  
"Hey. What's going on," I asked as I tried to get through the door.  
"Why don't you tell me, billboard brow," Ino asked me as she dragged me to the front of the group. What I saw literally blew my mind. On the table right across from the door Kiba was _kissing_ Nachuraru and he wasn't trying to push her off himself. I stared at her for a second before I noticed that Sasuke was sitting at the desk where Kiba-chan was kissing Nachuraru and he didn't look surprised at all. I got mad and started to make my way over there to pull her off Nachuraru when I heard growls coming from directly above me. I looked up and saw a tiger and a wolf growling at me. I took another step forward and their growls became more intimidating.  
"Hey you two keep it down will you? I'm trying to spend some time with my boyfriend right now," Kiba-chan called out to the two that were growling at me."I don't care who it is just make sure that they leave me and my mate alone," she purred after a second of silence. After that she went back to kissing her "boyfriend". I decided that it wasn't worth the damage that those fangs could do to my skin. I quickly turned around and returned to the others.  
The moment that I decided to return to the group the two stopped growling at me. After a few minutes, the wolf and tiger jumped down and were joined by another wolf and tiger, when the door started to slide open the two that I had just noticed pointed their ears up and started to run at us. Most of the people ducked or moved out of the way before the two jumped over the ones who hadn't moved yet and tackled a pale eyed boy to the ground and licked his face in greeting.  
"All right you two get off," the boy said. The two got off and the wolf crouched down and waited for the boy to do something. The boy shook his head no and glared at the crowd who instantly parted not wanting to make the boy angry. He walked by us with the wolf and tiger following him. I watched as he walked over to Kiba and Nachuraru and wondered how he knew them.  
"Hey Kiba-chan. You got a sec?" the boy asked not at all scared of how she would react.  
"Neji, you of all people should know that I will always have time for my cousins and family," Kiba-chan said pulling away from Nachuraru with a smile. I waited for Nachuraru to try to get away, but he just put his head in his hand and watched Kiba-chan with a small smile. I was completely stunned that he was so committed to her.  
{My POV}  
"So then what do you need, cousin?" I asked.  
"Not much. I just wanted to know if you got a team that would be able to keep my interest," he said in a nonchalant way. I smiled and knew that really he just wanted to make sure that I was okay and unlikely to kill anyone on my team.  
"Well I have Sasuke, Naruto, Nachuraru, and... Sakura," I said and growled out the last name. Neji noticed and knew that Sakura must have been one of the people that really annoyed me if I couldn't even say her name without sounding angry or growling.  
"Hey don't forget that you can always have me or Kiba-kun kick her butt if you want," he said with a hard look in his eye.  
"No, but thank you for offering. I'll just have to get over it and learn to "play nice" so to speak," I sighed. Neji nodded in understanding and we talked about how we were going to get together for a class as soon as he got back.  
"Well, I'm going to head back, so I'll talk to you later," he said as he started to form some hand signs.  
"Neji, you're on a mission aren't you," I asked as I recognize the hand signs. He nodded his head yes and wasn't surprised that I knew that he as with his team. "All right, then get back there and do a quick scan about 10 kilometers ahead of your team and I'm sure you'll see something interesting. Oh, and before I forget I'm getting closer to removing your mark," I said, whispering the last part so only he could hear me. He gave me one more nod and finished the hand signs, thus releasing the jutsu that he was using.  
After that I sat around and made out with Nachuraru or went and met the two Jounin that were leading teams 8 and 10, Asuma and Kurunai-sensei. I met them both and told them about how some of their team members trained with me after school and when we had days off to improve our skills and I wanted to know if they would allow us to continue when possible.  
"Well, how often do you hold these 'classes'," Kurunai-sensei asked.  
"I usually hold them at least four times a week and twice on the weekends for those who need extra help or just want to get some sparring in," I replied.  
"Okay. Now are these classes open to anyone?" she asked.  
"Of course. Anyone that wants to come can and I usually spare with Hinata-chan since I can take the hits she deals out," I said letting her know that I made sure that everyone was treated fairly. "I even stay after the normal meeting time to help those that want it."  
"I-It's t-true s-sensei. S-She even h-helped me l-learn a new t-technique," Hinata chimed in. I gave the shy girl a smile that soon had her smiling as well.  
"Well then I guess it's all right, but what happens when you are away on missions who will lead the class then?" Kurunai asked. I frowned a little and motioned for Bloodeyes to join me.  
"I usually leave my cousin, Sasuke, in charge, but we are on the same team. So now when I'm gone Bloodeyes or one of the other higher ups will lead the class," I said motioning for my eldest son to come forward.  
"Are you sure that it's safe to leave a wild animal in charge of teaching a class of humans?" Kurunai asked, eyeing Bloodeyes suspiciously.  
"Actually, Bloodeyes and the others have trained with the others from the beginning," I said with an anime sweat drop behind my head. She just shook her head in understanding and said that it was fine with her for her students to continue with the training classes. Asuma on the other hand jumped at the chance since it was one of the few times that Shikamaru actually practiced and didn't complain. After that I went back to Nachuraru and dozed off in his arms.  
"WHERE IS OUR SENSEI?! Everybody else has already met THEIR sensei's and ours is two hours late," Naruto called out.  
"Wait how late is our sensei?" I asked as I sat up.  
"Uh... about two hours. Why?" Naruto said.  
"All right. Time for some pay back," I said with an evil smirk on my face. Everyone gave me a confused look since they didn't know who our sensei was, but there was only one ninja who was ever late to things like this. Naruto shrugged and set up one of the oldest tricks in the book to get him with.  
A few seconds later I heard footsteps outside the door and decided that now was the time to get some payback. I quickly performed the hand signs for the water clone jutsu and made a water clone of myself who jumped up into the rafters to wait for my signal. I watched as the door opened and the eraser that Naruto had put there for the prank fell onto his head. I looked at Kakashi's face and knew that he wasn't impressed.  
"Ha, he totally fell for it," Naruto said with a laugh.  
"Well my first impression of you guys is... that you're all idiots," Kakashi said looking very unimpressed by the prank. As soon as he said that I tackled him from behind and caught him off guard so instead of being able to stop me he ended up with me on his back.  
"Ah come on Kakashi. Can you really say that we're all idiots," I asked while pulling out his Icha-Icha Paradise book from his bag. Kakashi's head snapped around as he recognized my voice.  
"Well, it seems that I was the lucky one to get the five man team," he said looking unimpressed. "And get off of me Kiba-chan," he said trying to grab me. As he did that I made some more hand signs and created a replica of the book that I had taken from him.  
"I don't think she wants to get off of you, Kakashi," my water clone said. Everyone looked up at the rafters to find 'me' standing on one of the beams.  
"This is a shadow clone isn't it?" Kakashi said looking downcast.  
"Yep," the clone said pulling out the replica of the book. Kakashi gave a sigh and threw a kunai at me and I disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
"Kiba, give me my book," Kakashi said looking mad.  
"Only if you can catch me," the clone said dodging a kunai. This went on for a few minutes before Kakashi finally pinned the clone down and got his book back.  
"Well now that I've wasted a few minutes chasing you why don't we go up to the rooftop?" Kakashi said still looking pretty angry. When they got to the rooftop I was sitting on the railing reading Kakashi's book and eating some jerky.  
"Hey guys," I said with a smile. Kakashi looked at me and the clone beside him. When he looked at the clone it stuck its' tongue out and burst into puddle of water that started to slide back down the stairs and the book he had in his had disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
"Okay somebody needs to get that book back before she gets any more ideas," Nachuraru said with a worried look on his face.  
"Oh, don't worry I already read this volume once this week and I promise I got some great ideas from it," I said with a smirk. I closed the book and tossed it back to Kakashi who caught it and returned it to his bag. "Besides I already have the latest issue of it," I said giving Nachuraru a look.  
"Oh Kami, please don't let her get any more ideas," Nachuraru said looking scared.  
"Don't worry I won't use any of these particular ideas for a few more months at the least," I said. Everyone, but Nachuraru, looked at me like I was insane.  
"NOOOO! You can't take Nachuraru's innocence from him," Sakura said.  
"Whoa. First I didn't mean it like that, but thank you for giving me another reason to reread those books, and second my _boyfriend_ is way less innocent than you think," I said making Sakura faint. I laughed at her along with Sasuke who chuckled more than laughed. Nachuraru just went into his emo corner and tried to regain some of his dignity. I just chuckled and stood so that I was leaning against the railing. After a few minutes Sakura started to come to and everyone, other than me and Nachuraru, took a seat on the steps. Kakashi leaned against the railing so that he was facing everyone and Sasuke's second cousins decided to lie down between me and him.  
"Alright now that that's over why don't we get to know each other," Kakashi-sensei said.  
"What you mean like our likes, dislikes, dreams, and hobbies?" I asked with a frown.  
"Exactly like that, Kiba-chan. So I'll go first so you know what to do. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't feel like telling you my likes and dislikes. As for dreams for the future...hmm... and I have lots of hobbies," Kakashi said with a smile in his visible eye.  
"Geez sensei that was _so_ helpful," I said my voice dripping with sarcasm. He just ignored my comment and motioned for Naruto to start things off.  
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like instant ramen in a cup, but I like Ichiraku's even more because sometimes Kiba-chan or Iruka-sensei will go eat with me and get the bill. I dislike the three minutes that you have to wait for the ramen to cook. And my dream for the future... is to become the next Hokage so that people in this village will have to acknowledge my abilities and existence. My hobbies are pranks...I guess," Naruto finished rubbing the back of his head out of habit. I smiled and nodded my head encouragingly when he said his dream for the future and gave him one of my rare smiles.  
"All right then pink haired is next," Kakashi said after a moment to take in what Naruto had said.  
"My name is Sakura Haruno. The thing I like is...well I guess you could say the person I like is... my dream for the future is... I dislike _**Naruto. **_And my hobbies include...," Sakura said and with every pause she would look at Sasuke with a blush on her face. Every time she looked away Sasuke would scoot a little closer to me.  
'Girls like her are more interested in guys than in their job' I thought with a sigh. When I glanced over at Kakashi I knew that he was thinking the same thing.  
"Next," Kakashi said looking at Sasuke who refused to speak. Instead Nachuraru started to tell us about himself.  
"My name is Nachuraru Shizen. I like to hang out with my friends, my girlfriend, Kiba-chan, or with Kiba-chan's friends and family. I dislike fangirls, fanboys, and people who treat others like they are lesser beings who don't deserve to live without getting to know the person first. My hobbies include wrestling with Kiba-chan's wolves and tigers, wrestling with Kiba-chan, and training. My dream for the future is that I'll be able to protect Kiba-chan when the time comes," Nachuraru said putting his arm around me. After his last sentence I pulled him closer, gave him a quick kiss, and rested my chin on his shoulder. He blushed a little and I just smirked gently at him knowing that I was the only one who could make him blush in embarrassment. Sakura just sat there and fumed over the fact that I had one of the hottest boys in our class for my boyfriend.  
"Okay then you boy with the blue shirt you're next," Kakashi said drawing my attention back to my cousin.  
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like many things, but I do like to be around my cousin Kiba since she is all the family that I have left in this village, and there are plenty of things I hate, including fangirls, I don't really consider my goal a dream because I WILL make it a reality and that reality is one where I kill the man who destroyed my clan," Sasuke said with a hard glint in his eyes. As soon as my younger cousin started to talk I gently pushed my boyfriend off and prepared for my move. I saw red when my cousin mentioned revenge and instantly teleported over to stand in front of him. I grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him up.  
"How dare you talk like that, you who doesn't even know what pain is," I said.  
"This coming from the girl who never had any family," Sakura said with a smug look on her face. I stiffened and felt my blood boil.  
"My name is Kiba Ulrika Fenrisulfur. I like being around people who aren't stupid or trying to get in my cousin's life, I also enjoy hunting with my packmates. I hate fangirls and people like you, Sakura, who only think of themselves and not of others or who are more occupied with their looks than their jutsus. Some of my hobbies include hunting, sword collecting, training, pranks, and hanging out with my family and friends. My dream for the future is to protect the people I _care _for from the person who made my life a living hell," I hissed at Sakura who started shaking like a leaf. I was so focused on her that I almost missed the smell of blood.  
I jerked my head around to look back at my cousin and saw blood starting to seep through the thin cloth. I looked at his face and saw the fear and pain in his eyes. I quickly set him back down and stared at him shocked that I had let it go so far.  
"Sasuke...I'm so sorry. You know that I would never hurt you like that right?" I asked almost afraid of the answer. I watched as he struggled to answer through the pain that was in his body. I winced and quickly started to form the correct hand signals before I shot out the hand that had given him the five claw like wounds. Right before my hand collided with his chest I stopped my arm and a white colored chakra started to come from my hand and heal the wounds that I had made. As soon as I had healed him, he passed out from the amount of pain I had put him in.  
Sakura rushed over and pushed me out of the way and cradled Sasuke like he was a child. I just looked at the scene with shock before I looked back down and saw that my right hand had turned into a clawed hand. I quickly put the hand in my pocket and sat on the ground away from the others. Naruto and Nachuraru looked at me with understanding in their eyes.  
'Oh Kami of all the days to hurt my cousin I did it on this sacred day of grief' I thought to myself horrified that I had been so stupid as to even think about gabbing my cousin like that.  
'**Great look at what you've done' **I heard someone say.  
'**Yeah. Cause it's totally my fault that pink hair said that to her. Just get her out of here before anything**_**else **_**happens, besides the sun is setting and soon I get to have my day out' **a rough female voice said. The next thing I knew I was in my mind and was looking at an empty room and I could feel my chakra being used to teleport me to somewhere outside of the village. I just sat there still shocked that I had hurt my cousin at all.  
{Naruto's POV}  
I was shocked when Kiba-chan grabbed Sasuke and lifted him up. I didn't really hear what she said after Sakura insulted her, but the next thing I knew she was performing hand signs and a weird colored chakra started to glow around her hands and healed Sasuke's wounds. I knew that she must have lost control for a brief second when Sakura-chan insulted her. I sat rooted to the spot as I listened to Sakura sob and worry over Sasuke-teme. When I finally came out of my state of shock I noticed that Kiba-chan and Nachuraru were gone and that Bloodeyes and Iceeyes were advancing on Sakura.  
**'Come on guys we need to get out of here before mom starts to head home'**I heard Wolfspirit tell his siblings. They nodded and continued to make their way towards Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme who was still unconscious. I quickly moved closer to Sakura who glared at me before returning her attention to the teme. The four siblings continued to get closer to their cousin and stopped when they were about a fox leap away from us.  
**'Hey, Naruto can you tell the aho that she needs to move before I get really pissed' **Bloodeyes snarled in my head.  
"Hey Sakura-chan. I think you should move away from Sasuke," I said. She glared at me like I was a complete idiot for even thinking that she would leave her precious Sasuke~kun. "Listen you probably have a minute before Bloodeyes over there tries to take your throat out. You're already on their shun and/or kill list. Do you really want to be on their taken care of list?" I asked with a nervous smile.  
"Oh, geeze I'm so scared of this Bloodeyes person I bet Sasuke~kun could beat him in a heartbeat," Sakura said. I glanced over at the siblings to see that they were _laughing_. I don't mean chuckling, but rolling on their backs with their tongues lolling out of their mouths laughing. "What the naraku is their problem?" she said looking at the animals.  
"You just said that Sasuke could beat the big one with the white sock on his left foreleg, when in reality Bloodeyes _trained_ Sasuke in most of what he knows," I said rubbing the back of my head awkwardly. She just looked at me like I was stupid or something.  
"Oh, come on Naruto. There's no way that an _animal_ trained Sasuke~kun to be as great as he is," Sakura said glaring at the wolf. At this insult they stopped laughing and stood up with their back fur rising in anger.  
**'Why you little-' **Bloodeyes started to growl while advancing on Sakura.  
"Bloodeyes. Knock it off," a voice said. My head whipped around and the animals bowed their heads in respect, but continued to growl threateningly at Sakura.  
**'Why should I give her any slack after she tormented my mother and me about her past?' **Bloodeyes growled.  
"I don't care what she did to our leader. Do you really think that she would have let her live this long if she didn't see something in the idiot?" the voice said. I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a boy with black hair, tanned skin, and golden eyes leaning against the wall. Bloodeyes growled something out to him.  
"Yes. I know that it's her fault we're in this situation right now, but there isn't anything that we can do to change it. Now I was sent here to make sure you five made it back home before leader-sama does," the boy said narrowing his eyes at Sakura's position over Sasuke. "Yes, Bloodeyes. I haven't forgotten our orders when it comes to her, but I don't think she'll mind if we ignore it in favor of getting her deputy home safely. Yes I do want to give her something to remember us by, but we don't have time the sun has almost set and soon we will not be able to protect ourselves if we don't get home soon," he black haired boy said.  
"Do you need any help getting the boy home?" Kakashi asked.  
"Not from you, but the blond may come if he wants to," the boy answered. Kakashi gave him a questioning look, but hid it with a smile in his visible eye. I looked over at Sasuke and quickly made my way over to him.  
"Kakashi-sensei are you really going to let four animals and a boy we don't know take Sasuke home?" Sakura asked directing her gaze at sensei.  
"You don't really have a choice. After all you have to have a pass to enter the Uchiha district," the boy said. Sakura looked shocked at that little bit of information.  
"Then how do you get in if you need a pass?" she asked him.  
"Sakura-chan they have a pass because they live there," I said.  
"NO WAY! How can an animal and a strange boy have a pass to the district like that?" she practically yelled. I saw Sasuke flinch in his unconscious state and I moved a little closer while trying to calm her down.  
"We have passes because we have to get pass the guards some way," the boy said coming closer to Sasuke. In the next instant he had Sasuke draped over his shoulders and was heading towards the district.  
**'You coming, Naruto?'** Bloodeyes asked following the boy. I thought about it for a second longer then stated to run after them leaving Sakura and Kakashi on the roof. I followed the others for a little ways before we came to the largest house in the district. The boy gave me Sasuke and unlocked the door. We went in and I took Sasuke up to his room on the second floor. I set him down and retreated back to the living room to make myself a place to sleep for the night.  
{My POV}  
I leaned against the trunk of a tree and made myself focus on the person standing in front of me.  
"You still can't control the pain in any other way can you?" feminine voice asked.  
"Course I canma friend," I slurred in my haze filed state. The person sighed and pulled me up into a standing position where I promptly began to fall forward. The person caught me and we slowly started the walk back to the village. I stumbled long and sang in a very groggy voice until we made it to the village gates.  
"Heeey Neji-kuuun. Wha's up?" I slurred at my cousin.  
"How many did she have this time?" Neji asked ignoring me and my question.  
"She had at least a shot of every bottle they had before she went to find the berry bush," the girl replied. Neji sighed and took me from her. The girl turned to leave as soon as she was certain Neji had me. Neji started to walk me back to my house and we made it there before the moon had reached the full height of its rotation. Neji shifted me and rapped his knuckles against the door.  
"Coming," a voice called. After a few moments the door opened and Naruto stood in the doorframe.  
"Who are you and what the heck happened to Kiba-chan?" he asked as Neji pushed his way through the door and set me on the couch opposite the one that Naruto had made into a bed.  
"Thanksss cous," I slurred again. Neji just gave me a look that said don't mention it and turned to leave. He bushed passed Naruto and left the house without a backward glance. Naruto looked confused for a sec before he shrugged and grabbed a blanket from the closet. He covered me with it and I started to feel my mind slip into the black abyss of sleep. As I fell asleep I saw my first mate's face hovering behind the blond and then I passed out.  
[The Next Day]  
I woke to the feel of something cold and wet on my face. I sat up and looked to my left and saw Wolfspirit sitting there.  
"Thanks for getting me up," I said holding my head.  
"Good to see you're finally up Kiba-chan," a blond boy yelled from the kitchen. I knew that it was Naruto by the bright orange jumpsuit he was wearing.  
"SHUT UP, DOBE!" Sasuke yelled from upstairs. I heaved a sigh when Naruto started to mock my cousin. I slowly stood up and started to make my way towards the nearest bathroom to get ready for the day.  
"Hey Kiba-chan," Naruto called out looking indecisive about something.  
"Yeah?" I replied.  
"Who's Scourge?" he asked, curiosity clear on his face. I felt my body stiffen at the mention of my mate's other name. He must have noticed my hesitation and the way my body stiffened because he hastily added," You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."  
"That information is something I'm not ready to tell anyone yet. I didn't even tell the Hokage who he was, but somehow you know his name," I said.  
"Well you mumbled it last night before you passed out on the couch, but like I said you don't have to tell me," he said answering my unasked question. I gave a small nod promising myself that one day I would tell the rest of my team my past. I made my way to the bathroom were I quickly emptied the contents of my stomach into the toilet before taking a quick shower. I hopped out and pulled on my fish net under shirt, my black and red flame colored shirt and matching pants, red ninja shoes, and my spiked collar.  
I walked out of the bathroom only to be tackled by a black panther. He pushed his head against mine in an affectionate gesture and let me scratch behind his ears before I pushed him off and continued to the kitchen.  
"Hey do you guys want anything before we leave to meet sensei?" I called out towards the living room.  
"We can't. Remember he said that we were supposed to meet him there without having eaten anything yet," Sasuke called back.  
"And you think this is wise because?" I called back.  
"Because he could be watching us right now," Naruto responded. I rolled my eyes and pulled out the raw meat and proceeded to cut off small bits of it so that I had it for later. Afterwards I grabbed my belt, making sure that my weapons' pouch was fully stocked, and we headed to the training grounds. We got there and I saw that Sakura had yet to arrive so I proceeded to climb a nearby tree to get a little more rest before the pinkette showed up. After a few minutes I sensed that the other two genin had arrived and that none of them had eaten anything. A while later I heard the tree next to me rustle as something landed on it. I barely cracked an eye open to see that it was just my messenger hawk returning from his recent journey. I was saddened to see that he still had my message strapped to his back. I told him he could go and returned to my sleep.  
I stayed like this until I heard the tale tail sign of a kunai being thrown at me. My eyes snapped open and I grabbed the kunai with two figures before jumping and throwing the weapon back at its owner. I saw the kunai hit its mark right in-between the feet of my team leader. As everyone focused on the weapon I made a clone to take my place while I hid myself in a nearby tree, making sure to disguise my chakra so I wouldn't be noticed.  
"Nice shot Kiba-chan, but you shouldn't let your enemy know where you are or give them the chance to strike first," Kakashi said retrieving his kunai.  
"Really? I could've sworn that the point was to make so much noise that your enemy knew you were coming from a couple miles away the same way you did," I said sarcasm evident in my voice. After that Kakashi explained the training mission and how we were to pass by acquiring one of the four bells that he had. Of course Sakura had to state the obvious that there were only four bells and five of us. I responded by calling her Captain Obvious and explaining how one of us would be sent back to the academy after the test. I saw that most of their eyes gained a hard look in them before they directed their attention back to Kakashi.  
While I studied their faces my clone watched Kakashi pull out a clock and set it for noon. Right as he was going to say start Naruto charged at him and attempted to take the bells. I took the opportunity to take all the bells and replace them with fakes. Once Kakashi had released Naruto he said to begin and everyone took off to hide in the underbrush. I released the clone jutsu and started to try and get the others to work together to take down Kakashi.  
A few minutes later and I had only been able to get Nachuraru to join up with me and had given him one of the bells. I arrived and saw that Naruto was tied up and that Kakashi was pretty mad too.  
"Only one of you five deserves to become a genin of the village hidden in the leaves," Kakashi said.  
"Sensei allow me to speak," I said. Everyone turned to look at me since I had spoken with such venom in my voice. I knew that the rage I was barely able to conceal was showing on my face because I could feel the small hairs starting to stand on end and my already log canines were longer than normal. He gave me a quick nod to show that it as alright with him.  
"NONE OF YOU DESERVE TO CALL YOURSELVES NINJA AFTER THE PERFORMANCE THAT YOU JUST PUT ON! YOU CAN'T EVEN GRASP THE SIMPLEST OF CONCEPTS!" I hissed at the others. I dropped my voice to a cold, hard whisper and hid my eyes behind my bangs. "I expected better from you, Sasuke. After all I trained you to be the person you are right now," I said pointing an accusing finger at my cousin who stared at me. "You," I said pointing my finger at Naruto," I expected you to leap at the chance to show that you deserved to be Hokage, but I was wrong." I saw Naruto lower his head in shame and shock. "And then there's you, Sakura. To be honest I didn't really think you would be as stupid as you showed yourself to be by not understanding the reason behind this training. After all you were the only kunoichi in our class who could've rivaled my scores if we were in the same subjects."  
I let my arm drop to my side only for it to curl into the shape of a claw. At the end I raised my head so that my eyes could be seen by them all. I knew that my eyes held a fire in them that showed just how frustrated I was with the three idiots. I growled deep in my throat as I made eye contact with them all. None of them could hold it for more than a few seconds before they looked away in fear. I spun around on the heel of my foot as I turned to gaze at the stone behind Kakashi.  
"You don't know just how important teamwork is until you try to give your life for a teammate," I said as I walked away from the group.  
"This is what that was about!? That whole speech and you just wanted us to know what it feels like to give our life for someone." Sakura yelled at my retreating backside. "If you wanted us to know that why don't you tell us what that feels like? Oh, wait you can't because you NEVER had anyone who _cared_ enough to give their life for you," she yelled.  
"Sakura, shut up," I whispered.  
"No, I want to know why you think you can lecture us when no one has ever cared for you."  
"JUST SHUT UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT," I yelled letting all my frustration out. In the next instant I was right behind the idiotic girl and was going to put my hand around her stupid little neck to end it right there and then. Just as my hand came into contact with her skin I felt something tackle me from the side. I looked down to see Kakashi trying to keep me pined to the ground.  
"GET OFF OF ME," I hissed. Kakashi just stayed put and I felt a weight on my lower body. The next thing I know Kakashi was replaced by Nachuraru who was straddling my waist to keep me from escaping. I struggled harder to break his grip on my body, but every time I did I felt more weight being added to my body. After a few more minutes of me struggling to get away I just laid there panting trying to get my breath back.  
"Shhhh, it's okay love. Don't worry about that idiot she doesn't know anything about you," Nachuraru started to whisper in my ears to calm me down. He stayed like that until I stopped shaking with suppressed rage.  
Nachuraru let me up and I turned to face Kakashi and the others. I saw worry and fear in their eyes. I gave a small bow and continued on my way deeper into the woods.  
"Good going you meinu," Nachuraru said taking off after me. I didn't want him to follow me so I quickly teleported to a secluded forest inside the village that few people ever came to because of how dangerous it was. I started to walk around until I came to a clearing where most of the trees had claw and burn marks on their trunks.  
I changed my form and began to practice my combination attacks and forms. I started with the winged-wolf and ended a few hours later with the wolf tiger.  
'**Mother it's getting late'**Wolfspirit said walking into the clearing. I nodded my head, but made no move to leave. I went over and sat with my back against one of the few unmarked trees. I decided to stay there for the night since I was still furious with my teammates and cousin.  
"Well, well look what I found," a woman with purple hair said as she walked out of the forest.  
"What do you want Anko?" I asked.  
"Well aren't we in a bad mood today." I shot a glare at the woman who continued," I just wanted to make sure you were okay and to share some surprising news. I raised an eyebrow at the mention of news and waited for her to go on. She smirked at me knowing that I couldn't wait to hear the news.  
"Well?" I prompted as my youngest son lied down next to me.  
"Apparently Kakashi's team of genin actually managed to pass their test to become his students. Of course they failed the bell test, but they did prove that they could work together by feeding the one who got tied to the post." My mouth stayed in a straight line not giving anything away, but on the inside I felt a little pride for my teammates. I quickly explained how I was on the team and what happened. She wasn't really all that surprised by how the test went, but was surprised to hear that I almost lost it with Sakura. We stayed and chatted for a little longer and I decided that I was going to go to Neji's place for the night. I parted ways with Anko at the edge of the forest and continued on to Neji's after I made Wolfspirit swear not to tell them where I was spending the night.  
I walked up to the door and quietly knocked on it. Neji opened the door a few seconds later and I explained the situation. He agreed to let me stay the night and I made a beeline for the floor. 'I wonder what our first mission will be' I thought as I fell into a deep sleep.  
**(Please of it so far and feel free to point out any spelling mistakes I try to catch them all, but no one is perfect so tell me if there are any that you notice and I will go back and fix them) ~Kiba-chan**


	4. The Mission and The Old Friend

(("Regular speech" **'thought speech'**'thought'))  
"All right do we have a visual on the target?" Kakashi asked over the head set. It had been a few weeks since I had learned that we had passed the test and since then we had started going on low level missions for the Hokage and village. I head the slight whoosh as the others got into position. I stayed in the tree and looked down at the others and the target.  
"We're ready just give us the signal," I replied pushing the button on my collar.  
"All right. GO!" Kakashi ordered a second later. I dove out of my tree and aimed for the target, but I misjudged the targets' speed and ended up only sending the target towards Naruto who managed to grab it.  
"MEEE-OOOOOW!" the cat yowled out.  
"GOTCHA!" Naruto yelled out. I shook my head with a small smile as Sasuke old Kakashi that we had the right cat.  
"Good! Then "Mission: Find the Missing Pet"... is accomplished!" Kakashi said. I sighed and started to head to the Hokage tower when I felt something land on my shoulder.  
"Hey Talon," I said as my messenger hawk landed on my right shoulder. He gave a shrill call and lifted his wings in joy to be back from his journey. I smiled at him and looked to see if he still had my message. I sobered when I saw that he still carried the message on his back. "Thanks for trying buddy," I said dismissing the bird and entering the Hokage building with the rest of my team. We waited a few minutes before we were allowed to enter the mission room. As soon as we entered with the cat its' owner crushed it in a hug that should have broken it in half. 'That poor cat. One of these days that cat will get away and we won't be able to find it' I thought to myself with a sweat drop on the back of my head.  
"Now the next assignment for Team Seven will be... to babysit for the council of elders... to run errands to the neighboring village... to help dig sweet potatoes..." the Hokage started.  
"NO WAY! NO THANK YOU! BORRING! GIVE US SOMETHING HARDER TO DO. SOMETHING IMPORTANT! SOMETHING AMAZING!," Naruto yelled making an 'x' with his arms o show that he was extremely against us getting something easy again. I had to agree with because I knew that this was a waste of our talents. Iruka got mad and started yelling at Naruto and I just blocked him out since I had heard the same speech again and again when we were in the academy. After a while the Hokage started to explain why we were given such low ranked missions and what each mission did for the village. While he did that Naruto started to talk about ramen and ignored the old man.  
"ARE YOU EVEN PAYING ATTENTION?" Hokage-sama yelled at Naruto.  
"I don't want to hear it. All you ever do is say "we're not ready for the next level" and "that we still have to get stronger before you can give us any REAL missions". Well I'm tired of it and we're more than ready to prove that we are NOT the screw-ups that the old man thinks we are," Naruto yelled making his point known. I saw the Hokage turn to face me and seemed to be asking me if I thought that we were ready to do something harder. I gave a small nod to show that I thought we were ready. 'At least I hope so' I thought to myself.  
"All right then I have a mission for you. You will have to escort a certain someone to The Land of Waves and protect him from bandits and thieves. Now I will call him in immediately," the old man said before Naruto could say anything. 'Kuso' I thought hearing him say we were going to The Land of Waves.  
The door slid open and revealed an old man with a bottle of sake in his hand. "What's going on? These are the ninja who are going to escort me home? They don't look like they could take on a fly, especially the midget and the girl with the collar," the man said. Naruto looked confused as to whom he was talking about and I took the opportunity to send out a silent signal to one of the wolf teams that were waiting outside. Before anyone could move or say anything the man was on his stomach with Bloodeyes on his back. He growled deeply in his throat and I smirked at the man's expression of shock.  
"Now, now Bloodeyes you know better than to pounce on the customer," I said as I walked over to him. Bloodeyes flashed a toothy grin before he got off the man. "Here let me help you up," I said extending my hand and putting on one of my sweetest smiles. He grasped my hand and I yanked him up with more force than necessary. He ended up on his butt and I was chuckling at his stupidity  
"Nice one Kiba-chan," Naruto said laughing at the man. I smiled and quickly returned to my former spot next to Nachuraru along with Bloodeyes who was smiling wickedly at the man.  
"Kiba-chan! You should know better than to antagonize the customer," Iruka yelled shocked at my behavior.  
"Yes and he should know better than to judge a book by its cover let alone a ninja by the way they dress," I replied without taking my eyes off the man. I frowned at the scent of another ninja village that clung to him.  
*Time skip*  
We walked out of the village gates and I stretched out my arms happy t be out of the village after staying there for so long. Naruto yelled about how happy he was to get out of the village and explained that this was his first time outside of the village. He then made sure that the bridge builder, named Tazuna, knew who he was and what he was going to do in the future. After that we walked on and Naruto was given a lesson in how ninja villages worked and where they were located.  
"Then there is the Village of Densetsu, which no one really knows much about since it's just a little back water village that doesn't have anything important in it, other than the sixth Kage," Kakashi said. I snorted at his comment about my home village, but decided to not say anything yet. As we walked on I noticed a puddle that was in the middle of the road. I instantly shifted into enemy alert mode, but made myself appear calm to the others. Nachuraru noticed my sudden shift in moods and got closer to me. Before he could say anything two ninja from the Village of Mist. They caught Kakashi in their chain and split him into smaller pieces. Then one of them noticed my presence and grinned wickedly at me. 'Kuso' I thought as the first one told the other about me.  
"Great that means we get two birds with one stone. You go for the girl, I'll go for the old man," the second one said. They released the chain that was connecting them and split apart to attack. The first one ran at me and I pushed Nachuraru out of the way and saw that Naruto had completely frozen up at the sight of Kakashi's chopped up body. I couldn't see anything else because the first ninja was only inches away from me. My eyes narrowed in hate and rage and I rushed forward slamming my fist into his chest sending him back towards the forest. I heard Sakura yell something to Tazuna, but ignored it and charged at my enemy letting my dragon spirit increase my arm strength and my speed. I was in front of my enemy before he had hit the tree and gave him a sharp kick in the side sending him colliding into his partner. The two collided and in the next second I had one hand wrapped around their throats keeping them from moving.  
"Who the hell sent you after us?" I snarled. The two kept their mouths shut and tried to claw me with their poison dipped claws. I felt the claws pierce my chest and right arm. I didn't even flinch and my snarl just grew louder surprising the two ninja. I lifted my left arm and threw the guy against a tree. In the next second I ripped out the other guys' neck instantly killing him and had caught the one that I had thrown away.  
"Now I'm only going to ask nicely one more time. Who sent you," I asked narrowing my eyes.  
"W-we were sent h-here by s-someone name G-Gato to kill the bridge builder and we didn't even know that the infamous Wh..._Gurgle_," the second brother was cut off as I crushed his windpipe. I threw the body away and stood there letting the news sink into my rage driven mind. I inhaled sharply when I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder. I spun and gave a snarl fully prepared to attack whoever it was. I straightened when I saw that it was only Nachuraru.  
"Are you alright?" he asked worry evident on his face. I nodded my head opting not to say anything for fear that I would betray the fear I felt a knowing that I had put my friends and family in danger just by being alive. He looked at me like he didn't believe me for a second before he nodded his head in understanding. I looked past him and saw that everyone else was perfectly fine.  
"Come on we need to keep moving or else when their boss is sent here we will be sitting ducks," I said picking up my pack that I had thrown way when the fighting started. I started to move in the direction of the Land of Waves, but stopped when I realized that I was the only one who had started moving on.  
"Kiba, we can't keep going. Naruto was cut by one of those guys' claws and you need to explain why you killed those two and interrogated them," Sakura said quite quietly for someone who was always yelling.  
"First Naruto will be fine because I slipped you all an antidote the moment I saw the puddle in the middle of the path. Second I killed those three for reasons that don't concern you. Third I interrogated them because we needed to know who our enemy is and why they wanted me," I said showing her the three senbon that were dipped in a special antidote that could neutralize all but the strongest of poisons.  
"And Sakura, Kiba did the right thing by killing those two especially since he really had only three options to choose from," Kakashi said looking pleased that I had thought to give my teammates an antidote in case one of them got hit with a poison attack.  
"And what were those three options sensei and why did you only use three senbon when there are six of us?" Sakura asked pointing to the needles in my hand.  
"Sakura her only options were one she could let them live and report back to their superior that they had failed, two capture them which would force us to turn back and be right back where we started, or three kill both of them after getting the necessary information and possibly give us more time before their leader finds out that they failed. In this case she chose the only option that would keep us out of danger at least until we make it to the Wave Country," Kakashi answered.  
"And she only used three antidotes because three of us take a pill to prevent poisoning everyday and she is impervious to all poisons except for the ones that she herself has created in case she ever comes across an enemy who has the same ability she does," Sasuke said keeping his gaze focused on my back. I nodded grateful that he had said that. Sakura still looked troubled about what had happened, but accepted this answer and dropped the subject. I was even more thankful that she let it go, but wasn't about to admit that out loud.  
"And old man you need to explain to us why Gato is after someone like you," I said with a harshness in my voice and stance. He nodded his head and we continued on our way to the Wave Country.  
*Time Skip*  
We were on a small boat on the last leg of our journey to the Wave Country and the old man had just started to tell us why Gato was after him. I didn't really care since I already had a pretty good idea of why Gato would want him dead. I waited and listened to the sound of the waves and the sounds of the air. I snapped my head around when the old man said that he would understand if we didn't want to help him anymore.  
"Oh come on Tazuna. If we didn't want to help you we would've left you when we were first attacked by those two ninja from the Mist," I said stopping him mid sentence. Everyone nodded their head in agreement at my statement. After that we had to be quiet because we were entering the village and this was the most dangerous part. After we departed the boat the man left and we thanked him for what he had done.  
We started to head towards Tazuna's daughter's house where we would be staying until the mission was finished. As we walked I noticed that Naruto kept looking around like there was some kind of danger nearby. He threw a kunai at something that wasn't there and Sakura yelled at him.  
"I gotcha this time," Naruto yelled throwing another kunai in a different direction. Kakashi went and checked it out and it turned out to be a rabbit. Naruto started to apologize to the rabbit and Sakura yelled at him for something, but I stopped paying attention when I looked at the rabbit and saw that it had white fur when it should have had brown fur during this season. 'Kuso' I thought and motioned to the Nachuraru to start battle procedures. I quickly performed some hand signs while Nachuraru released a smoke bomb and shifted into a green colored wolf. When the smoke around me cleared I looked just like the human Nachuraru. I knew that I couldn't speak for fear of giving away who I really was. I watched as Nachuraru's back fur stood up in an angry way.  
**'Hey guys no matter what happens between now and the house don't say my name. Okay?'**I asked Naruto and Sasuke.  
**'Alright, but why?'**they said. I was about to answer when I heard something whistling through the air and it was headed towards Sakura and Naruto. I cursed under my breath and launched myself at them knocking both down to the ground. The object sailed through the air right where they had been standing a second ago before lodging itself in a tree. I looked up and saw a large sward that I recognized as the sword of a man who was in most people's bingo books. I looked around when I heard two growls coming from nearby. I let out a snarl that demanded attention and said back off or die. I heard a whimper and the sound of two retreating wolves.  
"Well it seems that I have some competition after all," a male voice said. My head snapped around and returned to face the voice. I saw a man with a mist village headband angled on his head. He had his mouth wrapped in bandages in a similar way to Kakashi's mask and was only wearing some arm and lower leg guards with a pair of pants that were held up by a strap around his neck. "Tell me boy how did you know that my sword was aimed for those two?" the man asked. I kept my mouth shut with my body protectively over the two I had tackled to the ground.  
"Zabuza Momochi the boy who left the Mist Village," Kakashi stated. Zabuza laughed and continued to analyze me when he noticed the wolf that was standing next to me. I felt Naruto start to launch himself out from under me and grabbed him by the collar shaking my head not to interfere with the battle that was about to take place. I focused my attention on Kakashi after I was certain that Naruto wasn't going to attack Zabuza. I drew a quick breath when I saw his hand go up to the headband that covered his right eye (someone tell me if this isn't right).  
"Well if I want to stand a chance of beating you I'll have to go all out in this fight," Kakashi said lifting the headband to reveal a Sharingan eye. I glanced over at Sasuke and saw that he was very surprised to see that our sensei had one Sharingan eye. I focused back on the two ninja who were preparing to fight just as quickly. Zabuza had jumped out the tree that his sword had been embedded in and got into a fighting stance ready to take on Kakashi.  
"Just hand over the old man and I won't kill your companions," Zabuza said trying to get Kakashi to give up the old man. Kakashi just looked back at him with a face that said "never". "Fine if you won't give him up then I'll just kill all of you and the bridge builder," Zabuza said making a hand sign with his free hand. I watched as he disappeared into the mist that was surrounding us. At the same moment I saw Kakashi start forming hand signs for the water clone jutsu. I kept a close watch on our surroundings, but stopped when I felt something akin to a stab through one of my mind links. I immediately identified it as Sasuke's since he was the only one in the vicinity that was shaking like a leaf.  
**'Sasuke you need to calm down. I won't let anyone on this team die or get hurt during this battle'** I said forcing myself through the wall of panic and fear. At the same moment Kakashi said," Sasuke, calm down I'm not going to let any of my comrades die," giving one of his famous eye smiles. I felt the fear leave my cousin's body as our words sunk into his head.  
"That's nice Kakashi, but how can you protect them all when I can kill them with one stroke of my sword," Zabuza said appearing behind our backs. Before he could move my body reacted and I struck out with my left arm landing a punch which sent him into the air. As soon as my hand connected he turned to water and I felt something coming from behind me. I rolled out of the way and just missed being cut in half by his sword by an inch.  
"Well you seem to have pretty good reflexes for someone so young," he sneered at me. I let out a snarl to show my disapproval of his tone. The next second Nachuraru was standing in front of me and Kakashi had a kunai to Zabuza's throat. Zabuza laughed at the way that Kakashi thought he had won and gave him a powerful, sharp kick to the abdomen, sending sensei into the water a few feet away. 'Well he still has his physical strength and it's only gotten stronger' I thought as Kakashi climbed out of the water. I noticed that he was using the walk on water technique and before anyone could react Zabuza was behind Kakashi and started to perform some hand signs.  
"Water Style: Water Prison," Zabuza said and a sphere of water formed around Kakashi. "And now that I have your master caught I think I'll finish you off with only one hand," Zabuza said focusing his chakra and forming a water clone. The clone disappeared and reappeared in front of Naruto and sent the blond flying with a well aimed kick. As soon as the kick connected I moved at blinding speed and caught Naruto before he could hit a tree.  
I snarled at Zabuza glad that h didn't know who I was when I saw the fear etched on Naruto's face. I saw Nachuraru move to attack Zabuza, but I signaled for him to stay where he was and protect the bridge builder. I felt Naruto push against my arms like he was going to try and run from the battle when he stopped struggling. I glanced down at the boy and saw a little bit of red chakra mix with his normal blue for just a second before it returned to normal and Naruto looked determined to attack Zabuza no matter what happened.  
**'Kiba let me go I have a plan that will free Kakashi from that prison'**Naruto said. I nodded my head as he explained the plan and told him the weapons that Sasuke always carried with him in case something like this ever happened. As soon as I explained the plan to Sasuke Naruto rushed at Zabuza and was hit back by a punch from the enemy. He slowly stood up and in his hand was the headband that had been knocked off when Zabuza had kicked him.  
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? YOU THINK YOU CAN AKE ON SOMEONE LIKE HIM BEFORE YOU'VE HAD ANY...," Sakura started to rant at Naruto for doing the right thing, but stopped when he pushed himself up off the ground. Zabuza laughed at his resilience to defeat.

"Hey you with the huge sword, I've got a new name for that bingo book or whatever you call it. That name is..," Naruto started before bringing up his headband and tying it to his head," NARUTO UZUMAKI!"  
"You still think you can take on someone like me? Let me tell you something kid by the time I was your age I had already stained my hands with the blood of my enemies and that was just to become a genin. The funny thing is that they were all older than me and set to take the final to become genin and I was three years away from the age of being a candidate for the test.," Zabuza said laughing at the looks of pure terror that crossed Naruto's and Sakura's faces. "Oh and that's not even the best part. Shortly after I left my village I met the most interesting young girl. She was betrayed by her best friend and she was actively seeking out the people who had arranged for her murder that had become an exile when she fled before they could touch her. She was so full of blood lust that it made me want to help her and that's exactly what I did. I took her in and helped her rack down the people who were responsible for her exile. And in return she kept the ninja who were after me away by killing them before they even found me. And she did all of this at the tender young age of four less than a year after the incident that forced her to flee from her village. Regrettably, I lost contact with her shortly after we parted ways in the Land of Wind," he ranted on about the person I once was. Naruto and Sakura looked stricken and like they were about to be sick after he finished his little rant. Sasuke had the same look on his face, but I knew that it was fake. Thank Kami that I hadn't told anyone else that little part of my life.  
In the seconds that I had looked away Zabuza had moved towards my cousin and had struck him in the abdomen with a swift right punch. Sasuke doubled over in pain and Zabuza took the opportunity to punch him in the back sending him down to his stomach. He then proceeded to stomp on his stomach until he coughed up blood. When I saw the blood come out of his mouth I just about lost control and saw red in my vision.  
"Hey are you two ready for this?" Naruto asked glancing at me and Sasuke. I snapped my head around to look at Naruto and seeing him still so calm allowed me to gain control again and stop the need to rip something apart then and there. We nodded our heads in unison and I stepped up to stand beside Naruto. "Then let's do this," he yelled rushing towards Zabuza with me on his heels.  
As we rushed in we started to form some hand signs that were very familiar to us both by now. "Shadow Clone Justu!" Naruto yelled as puffs of smoke started to appear and take the shape of our bodies. We piled onto the stunned man who was shocked that we, two low level genin, knew such a high powered jutsu. At first it looked like we were winning, but it was short lived because Zabuza swung his sword and sent everyone flying in different directions. The clones landed and disappeared instantly and Naruto and I were knocked back. I slipped my bag off my shoulder and pulled out a wind shuriken and threw it towards Sasuke. He caught it and spun around kicking up some dust in the process and extended the shuriken to its full size before looking at Zabuza.  
"Demon Wind Shuriken! Windmill of Shadows!" Sasuke yelled jumping into the air and giving the shuriken a hard throw.  
"That technique is useless against me. After all, the girl I told you about helped me train so that I could use any weapon against its owner or just dodge the weapon. After all she was one of the few people I have met who could use any weapon and kill someone with it," the Zabuza lone said putting a hand on its sword hilt. He looked surprised when the shuriken went right past him and went straight or the real body.  
"Amateur!" the real Zabuza yelled and grabbed the weapon right out of the air. I smirked and let loose a mighty howl as a second shuriken made its way towards Zabuza. I knew that my cousin had mastered the Shadow Shuriken technique. Right before the second shuriken could hit him Zabuza jumped into the air dodging it completely. I increased the volume of my howl and smirked into it as he fell for the trap. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nachuraru join the howl along with Sasuke who smirked in the same way I was and Sakura just looked confused about the entire thing.  
Just after the second shuriken went past Zabuza it burst into smoke as Naruto released the jutsu and threw a kunai at Zabuza's head. Zabuza had no other option but to withdraw his hand from the water prison to avoid losing the use of his life. Instead of taking his life the kunai just cut his cheek and made him bleed. I saw that he was about to attack Naruto and before he could I teleported to be right in front of Naruto and balanced myself on the water. I placed one hand to my lips and gave a sharp whistle. Two growls and two roars answered he summons a second after the note faded into nothing.  
Zabuza aimed the shuriken at us and right before he could throw it Kakashi appeared and stopped the weapon from being released from Zabuza's hand. Zabuza looked stunned that he had been able to survive the water prison jutsu for such a long period of time. Before he could regain his composure four animals burst out of the undergrowth and stood in a semicircle around me and Naruto. The four animals were not happy and looked ready to rip out his throat.  
"Not only did you get out of my jutsu, but you were able to perform a summoning jutsu as well," Zabuza said to Kakashi. 'Too bad he doesn't know these four new recruits' I thought as I looked at the two lionesses and wolves. The lioness on the far right had a light yellow pelt and a red mark similar to the one on my wolf form's head, she was named Kimaera. Then there was the russet colored wolf that had bright yellow eyes and a white lightning bolt on his left shoulder, he was named Conan. On the left stood a gray wolf with one red sock that looked like a flame, she was named Fenris. Finally on the far left stood a black lioness with one red scar like mark over her right eye, and she had bright green eyes, she was named Lea.  
"You're wrong on both of those statements. I didn't break out of you prison, but was freed from it when my students attacked you and broke your concentration. The animals you see before you are some of the animals who have sworn to protect their master and anyone that that person holds dear. By threatening that boy you pissed off that person and now they have decided that this battle has gone on long enough and are going to end this battle before you can use your next move," Kakashi explained while I started to form some hand signs and told the four to protect Naruto and get him back to dry land before things got worse. When the two ninja broke apart the four new recruits grabbed Naruto and took off towards the mainland.  
I jumped over to stand beside Kakashi and continued to form the hand signs as fast as I could and then we all released the jutsus at the same time. 'Water Style: Water Dragon Missile!' I thought releasing the jutsu. Three dragon like bodies appeared and collided with each other. I put a little more chakra into mine so while the other two canceled each other out mine went right through and struck the spot where Zabuza had been a second ago. I knew that Zabuza thought something was wrong the moment my jutsu struck the spot he had been since he hadn't noticed any extra chakra in my jutsu and since Kakashi had mirrored his every move up to that point. Zabuza moved one way and Kakashi mirrored him flawlessly, even when he stopped suddenly. He continued to see if Kakashi was really just mirroring him or if there was something else going on.  
Then Kakashi started to mess with his head by finishing his thoughts and sentences. He started to form some hand signs that I recognized and I immediately started to form the same hand signs, but at a faster pace since I had increased my speed by pushing the wolf's chakra throughout my body a few seconds earlier to rejuvenate my body. Zabuza stopped mid kanji and just started to the left of Kakashi like he was seeing a ghost. Kakashi continued with his hand signs and we both finished at the same time. 'Water Style: Giant Waterfall!' I thought releasing the jutsu along with Kakashi's. Both attacks struck Zabuza at the same and sent him crashing into a tree with the same amount of force that a small dragon tail could exert.  
"Well I guess that this is the end for you," Kakashi said.  
"Can you see the future as well?" Zabuza asked.  
"I foresee... your death," Kakashi said drawing a kunai. Before he could throw the weapon two senbon came out of nowhere and struck him through the neck. 'Right on time' I thought to myself as I feigned a look of surprise. I looked up into the tree across from Kakashi and saw a boy about the same age as Naruto standing in it.  
"Well it seems that your prediction came true," the boy said. I teleported over to the body and checked for a pulse. I nothing for a few seconds then there was a small pulse against my fingers. I ignored it and shook my head at Kakashi signaling that he was dead and didn't have a pulse. At that moment Naruto and Sasuke came up to us on the backs of Kimaera and Conan. The other two were on foot since they didn't trust the other two not to throw them off or something. As the four new recruits arrived they let out soft growls that Nachuraru silenced with a small glare. Sasuke and Naruto gave Zabuza's body one look and the stared in disbelief at the boy who had killed the ninja.  
"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto yelled at the boy.  
"Naruto relax he's not an enemy," Sasuke said trying to get the blond to calm down.  
"What the hell teme! I'm not worried about that I'm more worried about the fact that he was able to kill Zabuza. Who wasn't exactly a push over," Naruto retorted.  
"Yes well you'll both just have to live with it. This probably won't be the last time we run into a kid who s younger than you and stronger than me," Kakashi said. I snorted at the irony of his comment, since I knew that Sasuke and Naruto could easily surpass Kakashi with the right training of course. Naruto went silent and I caught a flash of worry pass over my cousin's face before it was back to its unemotional mask. The boy in the tree teleported to stand next to me and picked up the body. I helped lift the body over his shoulder so that it wouldn't be as heavy on his body.  
"Well I'll just take this body to dispose of it properly before anyone else shows up," the boy said as he teleported away with Zabuza's body. As soon as he was gone Nachuraru and I returned to our normal forms in a puff of smoke. I stretched out my arms since they were a little stiff from performing hand signs as fast as I had. I smiled at Nachuraru who was doing the same thing.  
"Man I was kind of hoping I would break a sweat in that fight, but I guess it wasn't met to happen. Hold still you guys and give me a chance to heal your wounds," I said with a small smile. Naruto motioned for me to ignore his wounds and I set about healing the internal wounds done to Sasuke. I winced when I saw him grimace from the pain it put on his body. "You were very lucky cousin. If he had moved an inch to the left he would've snapped your spine," I whispered trying not to make the others worry about him.  
"I know, but it was worth it to protect _him_," Sasuke responded to my comment. I nodded my head and knew that he was just trying to protect someone else. After I finished up on him I released the jutsu and returned to the battle ground to retrieve my bag and weapons. "Aren't you going to heal Naruto?" Sasuke asked helping me pick up the weapons. I shook my head no and glanced over at Naruto, who only had a few bruises.  
"Well come on guys we need to get going. We've lost a lot of light with the fight," Kakashi said pulling down his headband to cover his right eye. He didn't even take one step before he started to fall forward. I rushed forward and caught him before he could hit the ground.  
"What's the matter? Does he have an internal injury or something," Nachuraru said coming over to take some of his weight off my body.  
"No he just used too much chakra during the fight is all," I said after giving him a quick once over. "It takes a lot of chakra to do most of those techniques and he used a lot of it just trying to break out of the Water Prison." Before we left I sent the four new recruits back to the pack for the time being  
Everyone nodded their heads in understanding and Tazuna took the lead showing us the way to his daughter's house. We got there and she immediately set out a place for me and Nachuraru to put down Kakashi. . We set him down and she led us to two guest rooms that were situated to hold three people each. I thanked her with a small bow and retired to the room that I was supposed to share with Sakura. I lied on the bed and thought about what had happened that afternoon. A few minutes later I heard the guys retiring to their room and Sakura came in.  
After she lied down I got up and headed outside to gaze at the moon. I sat there and just gazed at nothing and thought about the fight. I didn't say anything to anyone, but I knew that Zabuza was still alive and that he would come back to try again. 'Unless I can convince him to meet me under peaceful conditions and get him to see reason. If I know him he's probably tired of running from those ninja that are after him and just wants it to end. The last time I saw him he was sad to watch me leave. No one has ever really seen that side of him, but I know one other person he trusted enough to let his guard down. I hope that I see them both again,' I thought to myself. I sat there until the moon was at its highest point and decided to return to my bed. I lied down a second time and this time I was able to drift off to a peaceful sleep that wasn't haunted by the faces of the people I wasn't able to protect.  
**(The OCs here will probably not be shown again. I just needed someone to protect the others on the team and someone that Zabuza hadn't already met) ~Kiba-chan**


	5. More Training and An Enemy Vanquished

**(Just a heads up another couple of characters will show up here and will be explained later) ~Kiba-chan**  
The next morning we were sitting in the room that we had placed Kakashi in the night before. Naruto was trying to sneak a peek under Kakashi's mask, Sakura was telling Naruto to be careful to not wake him up, Sasuke was sitting on the floor nearby, I was sitting on the window sill, and Nachuraru was sitting on my lap with my head on his shoulder. I was relaxing and not really paying attention to the others. I glanced over at the others and thought 'I wish that it could always be like this at least then I wouldn't have to always be looking over my shoulder to see if anyone is following me or worrying about someone finding out who I really am.'  
"EHHHH," Naruto yelled as Kakashi opened his eyes. Naruto fell back on his butt and I saw my cousin hide a smile with one of his signature smirks. I smile at the sight and gave Nachuraru a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to face the others. Tazuna's daughter walked in just as I turned around.  
"Good to see you're awake, but you shouldn't try moving yet," she said directing her words at Kakashi.  
"Oh. I meant to tell you that I gave him some of my chakra yesterday as I carried him here, so he should be fine by tomorrow or the next day," I said rubbing the back of my head sheepishly. I gave a small laugh with a sweat drop behind my head when the others looked at me like I was crazy.  
"Kiba. You should know better than to give someone else chakra when you don't know what will happen," Kakashi said giving me a small glare.  
"Except I gave you chakra that matched yours perfectly, Kakashi," I stated forgetting to be embarrassed.  
"That's not the point, Kiba, and you know that. You never know when you're going to need an extra boost to win a fight," He said.  
"Wrong again. I didn't give you any of my reserve chakra, I gave you some of my current chakra, and I made sure that I would have more than enough in case someone is stupid enough to attack. Besides I'm pretty sure that after yesterdays performance if Zabuza is still alive he won't be attacking us anytime soon, after all I checked his chakra levels before that boy took off with him," I said being completely serious. Everyone, but Kakashi and Nachuraru, looked at me like I was insane for thinking that Zabuza was still alive.  
"Kiba, how could he still be alive if that other ninja took his body away and destroyed it?" Sakura asked.  
"Because there is a good chance that he didn't kill Zabuza. After al he used Senbon to deliver the final blow and we should all know what these little guys are used for," I said holding up one of my senbon. I saw Sasuke's eyes widen with realization, Kakashi and Nachuraru looked like they were beating themselves up for not realizing it sooner, after a few moments Naruto nodded in understanding, and the others just looked completely lost.  
"So, you're saying that he just put Zabuza in a type of paralysis and too his body away so it could be healed?" Naruto said. Sasuke nodded his head in agreement with what Naruto had said and everyone other than those who had trained with me looked surprised that he knew that.  
"Exactly Naruto. However you forgot to mention one thing..," I said stopping mid sentence.  
"..And that's the amount of time it takes for a body to recover from being put in a near death state..," Nachuraru continued and then stopped.  
"..Meaning we only have a few weeks at most and a week at least to get ready for our next meeting with them," Sasuke finished. I nodded my head in agreement.  
"Okay now that that's cleared up, could you guys please never do that again," Kakashi asked.  
"NEVER!" Sasuke, Naruto, Nachuraru, and I yelled in unison. I saw Kakashi sweat drop at our ability to know exactly what the others were thinking at the same time.  
"Anyway I'll have to increase your training schedule so that you guys can be ready in case we meet those two again anytime soon," Kakashi said.  
"All right this could actually be really fun," Naruto said looking as excited as Sasuke and I felt. I let a little of that excitement spill over long enough to give Naruto a high five and a genuine smile.  
"But how will a little more training get us prepared to fight people like them?," Sakura asked not looking very convinced about this course of action.  
"Because if my guess is right this training will teach those who don't already know how to use their chakra in the correct way without using too much or too little. Besides it will only be until Kakashi-sensei is back to full strength," I said. Sakura nodded her head in understanding and I gave her a small smile of encouragement.  
"You're right Naruto this is going to be awesome," I continued feeling really energetic for the first time in a long time.  
"It won't be for **you**," a little boy said as he walked in. I turned and faced him still feeling happy about not having any dreams the night before.  
"Inari! Come and give your grandfather a hug!" Tazuna said.  
"Inari be nice. These are the guests that I told you about this morning," Tsunami said.  
"But mama, they're going to die just like everyone else," Inari said giving us less than a second of his time. I looked at the kid and started laughing at his stupidity. I felt the eyes of everyone in the room turn to look at me.  
"Here's some friendly advice kid. You shouldn't count us out just because you think we are week. And if we do end up dying here at least we know what and who we died for. At the least a fight means that when I destroy a house or accidentally set something on fire I cannot be blamed for it. After all I would have done it in order o protect your village. If I really wanted to I could leave this place right now and not regret anything," I said with a sneer at the boy. Everyone continued to look at me with surprise on their face.  
"But you would die so it wouldn't matter anyway. Aren't you afraid to die," Inari asked. My mood was dampened by that one little remark.  
"No. I'm not afraid to die. If anything I'm the exact opposite at times, because I know that when I die everyone I've ever cared for is waiting for me on the other side. But at the same time this gives me a reason to continue living because I now that they would rather I live my life to its fullest than just let it end before I had kept my promise to them on their death beds," I said with a sad smile. I looked out the window and saw a black butterfly go by. I headed over to the window and steppe up onto the sill. "I'll see you guys at the training spot later," I said. Before anyone could respond I had pushed off of the window sill and landed on the ground from the second story window. I took off at a sprint towards the forest eventually running on all fours like an animal while still in human form.  
{Sasuke's POV}  
I watched as my cousin's mood darkened with just that one sentence from the brat. It got darker and sadder as she talked about wanting it to end. When she finished she jumped out of the second story window with a promise to see us at the training spot later.  
"Don't go after her. She wants to be alone right now," I said as Nachuraru made as if to go after her. I looked at his face and saw that he was conflicted between obeying an order and comforting his mate. Yeah, I knew that they were mates and not just boyfriend and girlfriend like everybody else thought. Nachuraru looked indecisive for another second before deciding to do as he was told and leaving my cousin alone.  
I nodded my head satisfied with his reaction and before anyone could blink I had the Inari kid by the collar of his shirt. I looked him in the eyes to see what was going on in his head. After a second or two I set him back down and put my hands in my pockets.  
"A word of advice brat, If you value your life and well being you shouldn't egg my cousin on like that. She can be very dangerous when she is in a mood and I don't want to see her the way she was five years ago," I said with a slight shiver at the memory of what the district and forest looked like after she lost control that night.  
"What are you talking about that girl couldn't hurt me," Inari said.  
"Baka, she could kill you without even using a fraction of her power. A young person who has no backbone or training would end up like the deer she is currently filling with needles and other weapons," Naruto said.  
"Come on we need to get moving before a human comes across her path and gets used for target practice," I said. Nachuraru and Naruto stood up and started to get some crutches so that Kakashi could come with us.  
"Boy I want you to tell me something. Would that girl really hurt Inari," Tazuna asked after Inari left.  
"Yes, but only if he pushes her like he did right now, Normally she is calm and collected, but if she loses control we could all die and she wouldn't care until after she had settled down. Everything Naruto said is true, even the thing about the deer. She usually goes out and trains to burn off extra chakra so that she doesn't have the energy to hurt people, but if people like your grandson push her far or hard enough she will find the strength to kill that person without even trying. Although between you and me I seriously doubt that she will harm him," I told him.  
"Sasuke we need to get going," Nachuraru said. I nodded my head and headed out the door with the others right behind me.  
"Okay. You guys go on ahead I'm going to get Kiba and we'll meet you there," I said taking off in the direction of the forest.  
**'You don't need to come and get me. I'm already at the training area, so just stay with the others'**Kiba said through the mind link.  
**'Are you sure?'** I asked.  
**'Yeah, besides Wolfspirit and Tigerspirit are here with me.'**  
**'Okay then I guess I'll see you when we get there'** I said waiting for the others to catch up. I waited and just thought about what my cousin had said today and what she had told me when I asked about her past all those years ago. 'Why does it seem that even though she has family right beside her she still wants to end the pain that is her existence? Is this why she doesn't want me to be consumed by my hatred and want for revenge?' I thought a little disturbed by that. I gave a soft sigh as I pushed the thoughts out of my head.  
"Hey teme, what are you sighing about," Naruto asked, walking up with Kakashi and the others.  
"None of your business," I retorted, still a little angry over what had happened.  
**'Sasuke, don't take your anger out on him.'**  
I must have looked a little startled by the voice because Sakura asked me if I was all right. "I'm fine," I said moving to walk a little closer to Nachuraru and Naruto. I really couldn't stand that girl. She only ever thought about herself and never tried to do anything to help the team. She was too focused on the fact that I was on her team and not the fact that she was the weakest member of our team. I still didn't understand how she ended up on a team with my cousin. We walked in silence after that and eventually arrived in a clearing pretty deep within the forest.  
"Hey guys," Kiba said, jumping out of one of the nearby trees. She was followed by Wolfspirit and Tigerspirit. I was glad to see that she was still herself, even if she was a little too sad for my taste  
{Kiba's POV}  
"Good now that we're all here we can begin," Kakashi said looking around at us. I felt Sasuke, Nachuraru, and Naruto edge a little bit closer to me. I was happy that they cared enough to worry about my well being.  
"What kind of training will we be doing," I asked.  
"We'll be working on chakra control."  
"And how will we accomplish this?"  
"By climbing trees," Kakashi said. I groaned at this. 'Great I get to ail this dumb training again' I thought to myself.  
"Kakashi-sensei, how will climbing trees help us learn to control our chakra?" Sakura asked.  
"Because we'll be forced to climb the trees without our hands," I said looking irritated. Everyone else looked surprised by my answer and looked at Kakashi to see if this was right.  
"Correct. Now because this isn't something that something that you are familiar with I'm going to demonstrate how to do this," Kakashi said. As he finished speaking he started to focus his chakra into the soles of his feet. Then he walked right up the side of a tree and ended up hanging upside down from one of it's' branches. "All right now that you've seen how to do it I want you all to try," at this point he threw five kunai at our feet," use the kunai to mark how far you get on each try. Try to go farther the next time, until you make it to the top of the tree."  
We all nodded our heads in understanding and each of us picked up a kunai and started to concentrate our chakra. As I started to form the correct amount of chakra required something started to inject other chakra into it. Before it could get out of hand I released my hold on the chakra dispelling it back into the reserves. I started again this time with little less chakra and nothing went wrong. I selected a tree that was a little away from the others and couldn't be seen very well by the others and took off with a sudden burst of speed. I put one foot on the trunk and nothing happened, but when I made it to the second branch a small explosion happened. 'Kuso' I thought and marked the tree before I fell back to the ground. I twisted mid air and landed on all fours and looked back at the tree. I realized I had marked the tree for nothing since it now had a hole through the center of it.  
I spun around angry that I still couldn't control it after all these years. In my anger I threw the kunai in the direction I had come from without aiming for anything. I growled in my throat when I heard a squeak of surprise following the sound of the kunai embedding itself in a tree. I walked back to the others still pissed off that I had ended up blowing a hole in my selected tree.  
"Thank Kami that kunai missed my head," Sakura said. I looked up when I heard her voice. She was all ready half way up the tree.  
"Hey do me a favor and throw that kunai back down here," I said even more pissed that she was able to accomplish something I hadn't been able to do without causing something to blow up, fall over, or get wounded,  
"This is your kunai?," she asked me a little surprised.  
"No it's some enemy's kunai and I just thought that it would make a nice addition to my collection. Yes it's my kunai now can I please have it back," I said rolling my eyes.  
"Kiba why did you throw your kunai at Sakura?" Kakashi asked walking over to me.  
"I didn't mean for it to even come back over here. I sensed an unknown chakra behind me and threw the weapon without thinking about it," I lied.  
"And you didn't think to check the direction before you threw it?"  
"After what happened earlier on this mission would you have checked before throwing the weapon?" I retorted. Kakashi looked a little surprised that I had indirectly mentioned the two mist ninja from the tart of our journey.  
"Just forget it. I'll just use one of my own kunai," I said stalking off in a random direction. I knew that everyone was looking at me with concern. I ignored it and continued deeper into the forest. After I was far enough away from the others I jumped into a tree and returned to watch the others practice. I stopped before I entered the clearing, looked down, and saw Inari watching the others train. I growled softly and watched the others train for a little while before returning to the secluded area that was already damaged. 'I wonder how this is going to end' I thought to myself.  
A few hours later and I had only succeeded in blowing smaller holes in the tree and setting sections of it on fire that I had put out with a small water style technique. I decided to stop for a little since even the beasts were a little tired from all the chakra I had drained from them.  
**'The both of you deserve that for blowing up the tree and setting it on fire a couple times'**I told them making sure that I kept the other links closed.  
**'As long as you don't misuse us we don't mind working alongside you'** a soft, but strong feminine voice said.  
**'I agree. And I'm sorry if we I upset you by making your life a little more interesting'**a rough feminine voice agreed with the first.  
**'Don't worry about it. I think I'm just a little mad that the kid could get under my skin so easily'**I answered. I started to slowly make my way back to the others. When I got there I saw Naruto and Sasuke asking Nachuraru for some tips on how to climb the trees. I saw Sakura glowering in their direction and decided to ask her for some help, if only to keep her from feeling useless. I walked over and whispered my question in her ear and listened to the tips she gave me. After a few more hours we returned to the house for the night. I was actually a little tired from using all that chakra and just threw myself onto my bed.  
The next day Sakura and Nachuraru were told to accompany Tazuna to guard him while the rest of us returned to the clearing to continue our training. Before Nachuraru and I parted I gave him a quick good luck kiss and ran to catch up with the others. This time instead of leaving the others and training somewhere more private, I picked a tree that was in the clearing and started yesterdays training over from scratch. It wasn't long before the tree was covered in small holes, burn marks, and kunai slashes. By the end of the day I had made a little more progress along with Naruto and Sasuke. We returned to the house and ate dinner without any incidents and retired to our rooms. I lied down and was out in a few moments.  
[_Dream_]  
_ I was surrounded by darkness and every now and then a scream would pierce through the silence. I started running hoping against hope that if I ran I could get away from the screams and darkness. The farther I ran the faster the screams came. I ran fast letting the fear and adrenaline fuel my legs and body. I was forced to stop when I came to the edge of a cliff. I spun around getting ready to run back the way I had come only to see that it blocked by the bodies of people long dead.__  
__ "Kibaaaa! Why didn't you protect us like you promised?" the bodies cried. I stood there frozen to the spot by fear. I spun around when I couldn't bear to look at the bodies of the dead Uchiha's and other villagers whose deaths I blamed myself for. I regretted that movement as soon as I saw the three people standing behind me.__  
__ "Daughter, why did you leave us behind? Why didn't you pull us out of the fire? WHY DID YOU ABANDON US?!" the bodies of my parents yelled at me. I stood there shaking and I felt my heart beat accelerate as the third body turned and revealed my dead mate's face.__  
__ "My love, why did you leave me to fight alone? Didn't you love me? Didn't you care? Why? Why did you leave me there? You left me to fight your enemy...all alone...why did you do it? Tell me," he moaned in the voice of a dead man. I took a step back as they reached out their hands to grab me. I was truly horrified at this point and was shaking all over. I felt something grab me left arm and glanced over my shoulder to see a dead Uchiha drag me into the embrace of the other dead people. I started to struggle against their cold, clammy hands. They started to drag me further into their midst and started to climb over each other to get to me.__  
__ "I never wanted to leave you. It wasn't my fault. I couldn't do anything to protect you guys that day. PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" I sobbed as my parents and mate turned their back on me. "please don't leave me," I whimpered as a dead body blocked my view of their retreating figures._  
[Reality]  
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH," I screamed as I bolted out of my bed. I jumped out and ran to the door.  
"Kiba?" Sakura called. I ignored her and felt panic settling into my system. I glanced around and took off running in a random direction as I heard more doors opening and people calling out to see if I was all right. I saw the door across from mine open and saw my dead mate standing there instead of my cousin. I took a step back shaking uncontrollably. I spun around as someone came out of the room that I was just in, and saw my mother. Before anyone could move I took off running towards the other end of the house away from the others.  
"KIBA!" two voices called out. I ignored them and kept running as more doors opened I saw the faces of my dead loved ones and relatives. Eventually I came to a door and opened it to reveal a cupboard of some kind. I ducked inside and curled myself into a tight ball and prayed that no one would find me. I flinched as the door opened and revealed my dead mate's face.  
"No y-you shouldn't be here y-your d-dead I s-saw you d-die. YOU'RE DEAD SCOURGE!" I yelled as I scooted farther back into a corner. I was visibly shaking and I could feel tears gathering in my eyes.  
"Kiba?" he asked concern evident in his voice. I flinched like I had been struck just by hearing his voice.  
"IT WASN'T MY FAULT! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" I yelled. The person ignored my comment and started to come closer to me. I closed my eyes as he reached a hand out to touch my face. I flinched away from the touch as the hand came into contact with my face.  
"Shhhh, It's okay. You don't have to talk about it. Just let it all out. I'll always be here along with the rest of our team. So don't be afraid to tell us anything," the voice whispered in my ear. I opened my eyes and I saw that it was Nachuraru who was there. I sat there stunned that he was really there and after a few moments I wrapped my arms around his neck and cried. After a few minutes I felt him gently lift me into his arms and carry me out of the cupboard. I had closed my eyes again and couldn't see anything, but I could sense the others standing around and watching me.  
"W-what happened? What could've put here in such a state?" Sakura asked.  
"Only one thing could do this to someone as strong as her and that's guilt. The guilt she feels must be extremely great if it was able to penetrate the waking world and make her break like this," Kakashi said. I felt Nachuraru's hands tighten around my body as he walked by the others. Eventually he set me down on a bed and lied down next to me. I stayed there and cried about everything that had happened. After a few moments I heard someone run into the house and rush up to the second floor. The person rushed into the room that Nachuraru and I were in and came to a stop.  
"Thank you, Kami," Sasuke whispered as he came into the room. I felt him slip in on the other side of me. "Please never do that again," he whispered in my ear. I felt him slip his arms around my waist slightly below Nachuraru's. I felt some more tears slip down my face as I realized that I had scared my cousin in a way that could've destroyed him. Both of them tightened their arms around my body and started to whisper that it wasn't my fault. After a few more minutes I felt both of their breathing even out into the rhythm that meant they were asleep. I drifted off to sleep again after a few more minutes and didn't have any more dreams that night.  
I opened my eyes and tried to sit up only to find two sets of strong arms keeping me in place. I looked to my right and saw my cousin lying there on his side with his head on my shoulder and his arms wrapped around my midsection. When I looked to my left I saw Nachuraru there with his head turned towards me and with his arms around my waist. I smiled and gave a content sigh, happy to just lay there. I stayed like this for a few more minutes before I heard someone starting to come to the room.  
"Hey Sasuke," I whispered lightly shaking him. He opened his eyes after a few more moments.  
"Morning cousin," he whispered back giving a small smile. I honestly couldn't remember the last time he had really smiled like that.  
"Unless you want to be caught here with us, I would get up and get ready for the day," I whispered back ignoring my thought about his smile.  
"But I like it here," He whispered back lying his head back down.  
"Alright then stay right there," I whispered giving him a quick kiss on the forehead. He returned my kiss with one of his own on my cheek before feigning sleep. I lied there and smiled happy with the situation.  
"Well you guys look comfy," Kakashi said opening the door. I just hummed happy to be between my cousin and second mate. Kakashi smiled at me and I could tell he was happy to see me better after the night before. "However unless you want Sakura to see you like this I suggest getting up."  
"OKAY I'M UP JUST DON'T SEND SAKURA IN HERE!" Sasuke said jumping out of bed. He pulled off his dirty cloths and pulled on his clean spare. I didn't really care if Sakura caught me with Nachuraru or not so I didn't move from my spot in his arms. However, Sasuke's scream had woke him up and he started to get ready as well.  
"Come on love. We don't want Sakura to see that you are still in bed," he said trying to pull me out of the bed.  
"But it's comfy here and I really don't feel like leaving today," I complained.  
"Fine then I'll carry you down there," Nachuraru said pulling his shirt over his head. He walked back to the bed and threw me over his shoulder before continuing out the door with Sasuke right behind us. I smiled and put a hand under my head so that I was a little more comfortable.  
"Oh please you both know that if I really wanted to I could get out of here right now."  
"Yeah, we know. But like you said you like being with us, so we're not really worried about it," Sasuke replied. I smiled and gave a little laugh when Nachuraru decided to set me down. Nothing happened after that during the day, but that night Sakura started talking about a picture that she and I had noticed Inari looking at during the meal.  
"That...that was a picture of Inari's father. I guess you could call him a local hero," Tazuna said. After that Inari got up and left the room looking a little angry. After that Tsunami yelled at the old man and told him he couldn't talk about that man like that in front of Inari.  
"Please Tazuna continue, but only if you think it is something that you should share with us," I said breaking the tension in the room. The old man gave me a grateful look before continuing his story.  
"The man in that picture wasn't really Inari's father, but he was the closest thing that boy ever had to a father. He was a man who believed that if you cared for something you should protect it with your life. He lived and died by those words. Once when the seasonal rains were very heavy the flood gates were left open and if we didn't get them closed half the village would be destroyed, that man jumped into the raging waters and risked his life to save a village that he wasn't from and was able to get a rope over to the gates so we could close them. Then when Gato came he tried to fight against him and that is what cost him his life. He confronted Gato and that man had him executed in front of the whole village as an example to the villagers of what happened when you went against him. Little Inari was there and watched the man who had promised to protect him broke that promise, even if it wasn't his intention. Little Inari hasn't been the same since," Tazuna said, wiping tears from his eyes.  
"Kiba, Naruto. What do you two think you're doing?" Kakashi asked as Naruto and I stood up only to fall to our knees.  
"We're going to prove...to that little...idiot that he's...wrong about the world," I panted struggling to stand up. I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder, but shrugged it off. "This is something we have to do."  
"You've got that right...my friend," Naruto panted having just as much trouble standing as I was. We stumbled to the door and helped each other get to the training grounds and we started to climb the trees again. He ended up collapsing from exhaustion a few hours before the moon set. After another hour of training alone I climbed up to a low hanging branch and joined him in slumber.  
I was awoken by the sound of something rustling in the tree. I glanced over and gripped a kunai ready to attack it if it was dangerous. I relaxed when I realized it was just a squirrel. I looked down and saw that there was a boy kneeling next to Naruto with his hand stretched out. 'If he goes for his throat I'll throw the kunai and grab Naruto before making a run for it' I thought watching as the boy's hand got closer to Naruto's neck. I relaxed when the boy just shook him awake and told him he would catch a cold if he stayed there.  
"Hello there," I said jumping down from the tree. The boy looked up startled that I had appeared so suddenly.  
"Hello," he said giving us a small smile.  
"Are you looking for healing herbs?" I asked noticing that the basket he had with him was full of herbs used to cure paralysis.  
"Yes. A good friend of mine got hurt a while ago and I'm gathering herbs to make a salve to put on the wounds," he replied. I walked over the herbs and studied them looking for any imperfections that would make the herbs useless to the injured person.  
"Let us help you. That way you can get out of here quicker," I offered watching Naruto nod his head in agreement. We set about colleting herbs and at the end he had more than enough to make his "salve". When we finished he stood up to leave and I offered to escort him out and he accepted.  
"All right you can stop the act now he can't hear us," I whispered. The boy looked startled that I had known it was an act.  
"How did you know?" he asked narrowing his eyes at me.  
"Not important, Haku. What is important is that I have a message for your friend from my master," I said giving him a letter that had my old name. It was tied to a jar of my healing salve for serious poisons. He took it and quickly his it in his basket among the herbs he had gathered.  
"Thank you. I'll make sure he gets it immediately," Haku said giving me a slight bow. I nodded my head and we parted ways when I noticed my cousin coming down the path looking a little worried. I frowned when I saw his mood and decided to find out what had happened.  
**'Oh he's just worried about Naruto. I kind of told him that he had fallen asleep out here. And then that**_**girl**___**came into his room and I pinned her to the ground until he had left so he wasn't too happy to see her so early in the morning'**Bloodwings said to me. 'Great she almost walked in on him half naked. That obsessed idiot," I thought to myself. I growled softly and teleported back to the training clearing before Sasuke got there.  
"Hey Sasuke," I called as he ran into the clearing. He just grunted and got to work followed by me and Naruto. A few hours later Kakashi and the others came to check up on how we were getting along. Naruto happened to be taking a rest in one of the tree limbs about three-fourths of the way up the tree. However, he decided to show off and pretended to fall off the branch only to end upside down. A few seconds afterwards he lost his concentration and ended up falling for real only to be saved by Sasuke.  
"Idiot. You know that you have to keep your concentration if you don't want to fall," he said grabbing Naruto's leg before he could fall too far. Shorty after that Sasuke started to lose his footing because he was low on chakra. "Naruto I want you to focus you chakra into your feet right now. Got it?" he whispered. Naruto nodded surprised that Sasuke had talked to him so tenderly. 'That idiot cousin of mine forgot that he doesn't have any chakra' I thought to myself, dropping into a crouch. A second after that Sasuke started to fall and he threw Naruto back towards the tree limb where he was able to stick and stay safe. In the next second I launched myself out of my hiding spot and grabbed my cousin halfway between the ground and Naruto.  
"Hold on tight idiot," I said. As soon as I felt his arms latch onto my torso I changed my vocal cords and let out a mighty roar before something grabbed us out of the air, successfully stopping our fall. I looked up and saw Bloodwings looking back at us with a toothy grin on his face.  
"Nice catch, buddy," Sasuke called to his dragon.  
**'Always happy to help the mighty leader and her deputy'**Bloodwings said projecting his thoughts to everyone. I saw Kakashi look a little surprised to hear the dragon and Sakura flinched just a little. Nachuraru smiled happy to see the dragon after such a long time away from them. I gave a light laugh as Bloodwings lowered his tail to gently set us down on the ground and made as if to land.  
"Hey Bloodwings can you reach up here and give me a hand getting down?" Naruto called down. I saw Sasuke's head whip around in surprise at the fact that Naruto knew Bloodwings. Bloodwings gave a small roar in answer, stretched his neck out to its fullest length, grabbing Naruto gently by the collar of his jacket, and set down with the boy in his jaws. He gently set the boy down next to my cousin who was still stunned that Naruto knew his dragon so well.  
"How do you two know each other," he asked after he recovered from the surprise.  
"I introduced them before we graduated from the academy," I said.  
"When was this?" he asked narrowing his eyes in anger.  
"Before it happened," I replied my voice shaking a little as I remembered that day. I saw my cousin flinch ever so slightly at the mention of the day his brother betrayed him. "Look I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but ,well, it wasn't really my place to tell you after all my son is old enough to decide who he tells what and I don't have any say in what he does. And I didn't want to tell you after what had happened. I really am sorry for not telling you."  
"Just forget I asked. It wasn't worth it and we need to get back to training," he said turning his back on me. I flinched ever so slightly, but didn't argue with him since I was just as happy to push the unhappy thoughts out of my head.  
**'It seems you were right mom. I should have told him sooner'** Bloodwings said looking at me with guilt in his eyes. I shrugged and returned to the training. After a while Kakashi and my other teammates left, but Bloodwings stayed and watched us train occasionally having to catch one of us as we fell from the tree. When the moon finally made it to half way up we had all made it to the top of our respective trees.  
"Hey you guys ready to head back?" Sasuke asked after catching his breath.  
"Sure," Naruto and I said together with large grins on our faces.  
"All right then. Hey Bloodwings can you give us a lift down to the forest floor?" Sasuke called out. Bloodwings agreed to help us down and a few minutes later we were stumbling through the door of Tsunami's house.  
"So you three are finally back looking like something the cat dragged in," Tazuna stated.  
"Yeah, well climbing to the top of a tree without your hands will do that to a person," I panted.  
"So you guys made it?" Kakashi asked.  
"We sure did and it was worth the effort just to get a glimpse of the sky," Naruto said.  
"Good then tomorrow you guys can join us at the bridge to help protect Tazuna," Kakashi said. I felt my face break out into one of my true smiles and I gave a sigh of relief as I was told we didn't have to go and climb trees again the next day. The three of us took a seat and we sat there catching our breath and letting our sore muscles relax for a few hours. I saw Naruto lay his head down on his arms and noticed Inari watching him with an intense stare.  
"WHY DO THREE PUSH YOURSELVES SO HARD?! Why? I don't understand. All three of you are out there pushing yourselves until you're too tired or sore to move without pain racing through your body. You all go out there and train for hours on end and you still come back here with a smile on your face or in your eyes. I don't get why you would put so much effort into protecting a village that you don't belong to. Especially, the two with the weird clothes, you two go out there and come back covered in scratches and you still have the energy to go clown around and have fun. People like you who act all tough and strong always end up dead! You both come and shoot off your mouth and you don't know anything about us! You don't know what it's like to suffer and be alone or be treated like dirt," Inari yelled at us. I saw my cousin stiffen and Naruto didn't even flinch at the words that I knew were cutting deep into his very soul. Before he had even finished speaking I felt a low growl start in my throat and when he finished it had turned into a snarl of fury and rage. A second after he had finished speaking I was standing over the boy.  
"Tell me something, brat. Did you watch your mother and father murdered before your very eyes?" I growled. Inari shook his head no and my left hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of his shirt. I lifted him up off the floor and held him above my head, ignoring the gasps of horror. "I did. I watched as the person I had called friend murdered my parents right in front of me. Before that my whole village treated me like I was a monster because of something that I had no control over. They beat me, picked on me, mocked me, and even attacked me with weapons. You want to know why I wear long sleeved shirts and pants all the time? It's to hide the scars those people gave me. This collar I wear was a present from one of my very few friends, who gave his life so that I could live mine. You think Naruto doesn't know pain and suffering? Let me tell you something he has had as hard a life as I have, hell his might have been worse than mine because unlike me he didn't have anyone who cared for him until I moved to his village. I was one of his first friends; I was there for him when the villagers would try to do to him what people had done to me. I stopped the beatings, teasing, taunting, and attacks because I wouldn't let what happened to me happen to someone else. And unlike you, who decided to mope about and cry all the time, I swore that I would protect the people who had ridiculed me as a child and even now I want to protect the very people who tried to kill me on more than one occasion and would have if they hadn't feared me as much as they did," I snarled tears blurring my vision. "You are very lucky because you still have people who care about you. PEOPLE WHO WOULD DIE FOR YOU! I would never let anyone die to protect me not after losing everything twice," I whispered finally letting the tears flow openly down my face.  
I dropped the brat and fell to my knees overwhelmed by emotions. I heard the doo swing open and felt myself being lifted by two strong arms before I was outside in the forest. I felt another pair of slender arms slip around my torso and the warmth of a body pressed against my back. I could see black robes and weird swords on the people and felt them both hugging me tightly.  
"It's all right to cry, Kiba-chan. We don't mind if you let your emotions out," a female voice whispered in my ear. I took her advice and buried my head in the chest of the person in front of me and cried. I don't know how long I stayed like that, but when my sobs finally subsided the moon was beginning its' decent. "Better?"  
"Yes thank you. Both of you," I replied and whipped my eyes removing the last of my tears.  
"You shouldn't keep your emotions locked up like that. It could get you into trouble someday," a male voice whispered softly.  
"I know, but sometimes it's easier for me to lock them up then let them out," I whispered.  
"Ignore him. Sometimes he can be to hard headed for his own good," the female whispered back. I nodded my head and pushed myself away from the man in front of me and was able to get a good look at their faces for the first time, or should I say their masks. The man in front of me had on a mask that resembled a human face, but you could see its teeth and it was bone white and had red streaks on the left side of it and could see orange hair. The other looked similar to the first, but had a pair of wolf ears and blue markings on it and I was able to see she had black hair. I wasn't really all that surprised to see the masks and thanked the two again before making to return to the house.  
"Kiba-chan, are you sure you want to return to that house after what happened," the man asked.  
"I may not want to, but I need to be with my team and if that means being around that little brat then so be it," I said glancing back at them. I could tell that they approved of my answer by the way they nodded their heads at my answer.  
"Alright, but before you go why did you trust us so easily, Kiba-chan?" the girl asked.  
"I trusted you because you didn't mean me or my friends any harm. And I know that because if you had meant any of us harm the pack wouldn't have let you get to the house without a fight and I would've known about your presence if you had meant us harm." The girl appeared to accept my answer and they didn't ask any more questions as I continued on my way out of the forest. I turned around one more time meaning to get their names and all I saw were two of those black butterflies from earlier. I sighed and teleported to the house. When I got there I collapsed onto my bed and fell asleep. A few minutes later I felt something move my body and I felt the warmth of two bodies when I was set back down. Without thinking I nestled closer to the one on my left and fell into a deeper sleep, untroubled by dreams.  
{Kakashi's POV}  
'Kiba wasn't really herself last night, but I guess that it's understandable after what she said' I thought as I ate breakfast before the others got up. A few minutes later Sakura came down and started to make her breakfast as well. We ate in silence and a few minutes later I went to go get up the other two who would be going with us to the bridge today. I opened the door to the guy's room and found a very familiar scene before me. In-between Sasuke and Nachuraru was Kiba sleeping as soundly as a log. I was about to leave when I noticed that the two boys were awake and were silently slipping away from the girl. I nodded my head silently and left before they caught me there.  
"Alright we're going to head out. Don't worry about Kiba and Naruto I doubt they'll be able to move today especially with the amount of chakra they used in training," I told Tsunami an hour later with the three genin and bridge builder waiting for me.  
"Alright don't worry they'll be well taken care of," she said with a smile. After that we left for the bridge and arrived there in just a few minutes. When we got there we found the builders who had arrived earlier unconscious and surrounded in a mist. The mist cleared for a few minutes and revealed Zabuza and the boy from before, but something was wrong they looked like they were trying to fight something that wasn't there.  
"Haku we must keep fighting him. If only for her sake, we can't let him use us to destroy the things she holds dear," Zabuza yelled when it looked like the boy next to him was going to attack us.  
"I know, Zabuza, but I can barely keep myself from attacking as it is. I still don't get how he knew we would be here to meet her today. Do you think we were betrayed by someone in her group?" Haku asked Zabuza.  
"It doesn't matter how or why, but we can't let that man use us like this. She doesn't deserve what happened to her. What I want to know is how the hell he was able to surprise us like that. He is a weakling, but he was able to jump us so easily that it makes me sick. Of all the times for an enemy of hers to show up it had to be today, and what's worse is that it's one of the one's on her list," Zabuza growled. I saw him take a step forward and the boy rushed forward only to stop suddenly as if he was undecided about what to do. Zabuza growled in his throat and I decided that it was time we got down to business since it was obvious to me that he had beaten the people who were littered about the bridge.  
"Sasuke, Nachuraru I want you two to take on the boy in the mask. Sakura you guard Tazuna. I'll take on Zabuza," I said and they all nodded in agreement. A few seconds later the fighting started, but it still seemed as if our opponents were holding back. Eventually Sasuke and Nachuraru were able to get a tag team attack on Haku and the boy activated a Kekkei Genkai and trapped the two in a dome of ice mirrors where they were bombarded with needles. Afterwards I had to focus on my opponent who was still trying to fight the imaginary person who was controlling him and Haku. He even tried to convince me that there was somebody hiding in his mist that was controlling him. I ignored him and continued to evade his attacks while not giving any in return.  
{Kiba's POV}  
I woke up and found that the others had already left and started to freak out. This in turn woke up Naruto who was just as mad as I was about being left behind. We rushed around and got ready as fast as we could and took off towards the bridge. 'Kuso, kuso, kuso' I thought as we raced through the woods. I stopped when I smelt blood in the air.  
"Naruto we have to go back now!" I yelled spinning on my heel and racing back the way we had come.  
"You've got that right. No matter how big of a brat that kid is we can't let him get hurt," Naruto agreed as we ran. When we got there we saw Inari yelling at two samurai who had knocked out his mother. We had come up with a plan on the way there and we waited for the right moment to put it into action. Inari yelled at the two a little more and then charged at the two who drew their swords and proceeded to try and kill the boy. The swords connected with the boy's body and a puff of smoke exploded from where he was a second ago.  
"Where the hell did the kid go?" one of the swords man asked.  
"Do you guys really have time to worry about a kid when your opponent is standing in front of you with a sword at your throat," I asked appearing in a puff of smoke and grabbing their weapons from their hands and to their throats in the span of five seconds. The two samurai raised their hands like they were saying we are unarmed don't kill us.  
"Good thinking, Kiba. You were even right about those two guys knocking out Tsunami and what the brat would do. You really are smart when it comes to fighting and strategy," Naruto called from behind me.  
"Heh thanks Naruto. Now do me a favor and make sure that Inari and the others can't see what I'm about to do," I said over my shoulder. He nodded at me, created clone, and covered the eyes of Tsunami and Inari before giving me the all clear. I nodded and returned my attention to the samurai. "Well I guess getting left here wasn't a total waste of time after all. Now let's get down to business," I hissed as my pupils narrowing to slits. The two shivered in fear and before they could move I had plunged the swords into their throats killing them before they had a chance to react.  
I dropped the swords and watched the bodies fall to the dock. I growled angry that I had wasted precious time on those two idiots. I signaled to Naruto to give the boy to the lone and let out a long, piecing whistle. It was answered a second later by two roars.  
"All right Naruto let's go. As soon as they get here we're going to leave and the disposal squad will remove the bodies and then they'll head over to the bridge to help us out. After we leave I'll have our shadow clones take Inari and tell him to gather as many villagers as they can," I told him. He agreed as two dragons flew down and hovered above us and four of my clan mates jumped off the back of the larger, black female dragon.  
"Okay so I'll take Bloodwings and you'll take Nightpitch. Great I'll be right behind you Kiba. Let's go save our friends and teammates," Naruto said as Bloodwings grabbed him like before. I nodded and told the four who were staying behind to send the medical team to the bridge as soon as they were done with the bodies. I jumped onto Nightpitch's back and we took off into the air heading for the bridge. As we gained altitude I moved to my usual spot between her neck and body. After a few seconds we evened out our flight path and started to pick up speed going as fast as we could without losing her apprentice.  
**'Listen, Kiba, I think that our friends were betrayed by their employer because shortly after they arrived they were attacked by one of those guys. I don't know what happened because at about the same time you took off towards the bridge and I had to focus on keeping you in sight, but I fear that something has happened'**Nightpitch told me. I nodded my head and she picked up the pace as the bridge started to come into view.  
**'Naruto do still remember that training I did with you on how to ride on a dragon's tail?'**I asked when I spotted Haku's Kekkei Genkai from a few miles away. I could see it because I had opened the link between myself and Nightpitch as soon as she had started to rise into the sky.  
**'Yeah. I still remember and if you're asking I'm ready to try whatever you're planning as long as Bloodwings is willing to try'**he replied.  
** 'Good because we're going to have to use that speed boost to get in there and protect Sasuke and Nachuraru from that masked boy. Okay so move down to the tail now and I'll have the dragons launch us when we get a little closer to our target. And remember you have to teleport out of the decent a few feet above your target, but at least this way we'll still have the dragons as a surprise for our enemy' **I said and made my way to Nightpitch's tail and clung to one of her tail spikes to keep my balance. As we got closer I felt the two dragons start to channel their chakra into their tails so that we could get an even bigger boost to our speed.  
**'All right. LAUNCH!'**I mentally yelled and we were sent flying away from our dragons and towards the bridge at a speed that would have killed a normal person. **'NOW'**I yelled to Naruto and we both flared our chakra at the same time and teleported onto the bridge. As we flew through the air I saw senbon flying towards Nachuraru and Sasuke and pulled out a kunai throwing it at the senbon before finishing the hand signals. I heard the senbon and kunai crash into each other before the senbon could get to close to my family. The others seemed a little surprised to see the kunai that came out of nowhere and took out all the senbon.  
"Well it seems that you two forgot about our other teammates. And judging by the angle of that kunai one of them is very pissed," Kakashi told Zabuza. I saw Zabuza look my direction as I appeared in a puff of smoke. I snarled and moved before he could get a good look at me. I dashed into the ice mirrors just as Haku jumped out of them and threw more senbon at the two who were already trapped inside. Just as a couple senbon were about to pierce Nachuraru I jumped in front of him and felt the needles puncture my arms and midsection. I glanced to my right when I heard a soft gasp and saw that Naruto had done the same thing for Sasuke.  
"Thanks," I whispered to Naruto. He just gave me a nod and returned his attention to our opponent. 'Something's not right about this. They shouldn't be attacking us, since they came here looking for me' I thought as I dropped my pierced arms. I ripped out the needles and dropped them into my bag for later. I glanced at Naruto as a few drops of blood dripped down my arms and gave him a nod that said I was ready to put the rest of our plan into action.  
"All right then let's do it," Naruto said making a few quick hand signs that were very familiar by then," SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" After we yelled that we were surrounded by a puff of smoke and multiple of clones jumped out and attempted to destroy the ice mirrors. As we neared the mirrors Haku jumped out and destroyed the clones by piercing them with his senbon.  
"Sorry about that, but you wouldn't have been able to destroy the mirrors, even if you had made it to the mirrors," he said returning to one of his mirrors. I growled as the smoke cleared and I had more needles in my arms and legs. I heard Nachuraru and Sasuke draw in sharp breathes as they saw the numerous needles in Naruto and I. We took a shaky breath and started to remove the needles again.  
"HEY YOU GUYS DON'T YOU DARE LOSE TO A GUY LIKE THAT!" Sakura screamed at us.  
"Sakura don't encourage them. The only way to end this fight is to take down Zabuza before the boy can take down our friends," Kakashi said raising a hand to remove his head band from his eye.  
"Kakashi," I yelled making him freeze. "That isn't going to work this time. Our opponents aren't these two, if you were even half the ninja you claim to be you would have checked them before engaging them in battle and you might have noticed the chakra strings," I gasped between the pain. "Naruto do you have enough chakra left for one more try?" I asked him. He nodded and started to form the hand signs alongside me and we tried to get through the mirrors again. We were repelled before we were even close to the mirrors. We fell back and we had a ton of needles in us again. This time we didn't even try to remove the needles and we stood back up and tried again and again with the other two eventually joining in by using their fire-ball jutsu, trying to melt the mirrors and/or hitting Haku. After a few more attempts Naruto and I had both drained our chakra down to almost nothing.  
"Hey do you two think you can still fight?" Nachuraru asked.  
"Of course we can," Naruto said pushing himself up to his feet. I nodded my head and struggled to stand because of the needles that were in my legs. A few seconds after we stood we both passed out before we could attack the ice mirrors again. 'Please don't let this battle end here, not yet' I thought as my world faded to black.  
{Nachuraru's POV}  
I watched as Naruto and Kiba-chan collapsed from exhaustion and lack of chakra. I gave them both a quick glance and returned my attention to our opponent. I saw Sasuke give the two a glance as well before he masked his emotions again and got ready for opponent's next move. I watched as the boy looked down at the two in what appeared to be concern before his head was snapped back up.  
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Finally I can kill the monster and collect the reward on her head, but first I think I'll play with you two a little longer before I kill them both," a voice coldly cackled. I glanced around trying to find out where the voice had originated from. I saw Sasuke doing the same thing looking as worried as I felt. I returned my attention to the boy when we shot out of the mirrors and started to attack us. I saw that Sasuke had been able to activate his Sharingan during the fight and moved at the same time he did.  
"I'm sorry, old friend," the boy yelled as he threw senbon at Naruto and Kiba. I darted forward and was able to intercept the senbon heading for Kiba as Sasuke grabbed the boy and threw him away from Naruto before he was hit by the needles meant for Naruto. I gasped as a needle pierced my heart. I coughed up blood as I felt the needle go through my heart and out my back. I heard Kiba groan as she regained consciousness and I collapsed backwards only to be caught by Kiba. She gasped as she saw the blood running down my chest and out my mouth.  
"No please Nachuraru, please, I-I c-can't lose you not now. Please you have to be okay, think of our pack, think of your kids, think of me. Please don't leave me," she cried cradling my body. I lifted a hand and, cupping her face, I wiped away her tears.  
"Please don't cry for me. You have...to live for our pack...and for our pups. Please don't let my death destroy you. I love you too much to let you die," I whispered as I struggled to breath. She stared at me for a second before she leaned down and gave me one last kiss. I smiled into the kiss as my world started to fade to nothingness.  
**'I will always love you, Kiba'**I thought as my world turned to nothingness.  
{My POV}  
I watched as my second mate died in my arms. He gave one last smile and told me he loved me before he stopped breathing. I hugged him to my chest and felt the pain in my heart change. I sensed a large amount of chakra being released and glanced up and saw that Naruto was holding my cousin in much the same way that I had just held Nachuraru. I did sense that he was still alive and that he had told Naruto who he wanted to kill. I watched as a red chakra started to appear around Naruto and surrounded him.  
**'MASTER! Release us! Let us help you, let us kill the one controlling your friends'**two voices called to me in unison. I growled deep in my throat.  
**'NO! YOU WILL NOT TAKE OVER, BUT YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME AND CHANEL YOUR POWER INTO ME!'**I yelled at the two voices. I felt a change in their attitude and it felt like they realized what it meant for me to watch another person die for me. It felt like they feared and respected me at the same time.  
**'As you wish master'**the voices said.  
"Please forgive me," Haku said. I glanced up and saw Naruto about to kill Haku. I felt my fangs grow and fur begin to grow out. I snarled and teleported over to stand in front of Haku. I stopped Naruto's punch and noticed that it wasn't Naruto I had stopped, but an enraged Kyuubi driven Naruto.  
"Don't worry about it, Haku. I won't let you die here because you're not the one who killed Nachuraru. Naruto leave him alone it's not Haku's fault this happened. Take this power and use it for something good," I said. I saw him calm down enough to pay attention and understand what I had said.  
"Why don't you blame him? He killed your mate and cousin," Naruto whispered with confusion on his face.  
"Because he didn't kill my mate, and I know that because I can see the chakra strings that are controlling him and he is my friend," I said. "And now it's time for me to kill the man who killed my mate and took my light. HIDDEN ART OF THE ALPHA: ALPHA'S CALL!" I shouted. A second later howls and screams were heard from in the mist. I snarled and jumped over Haku and blocked a needle that was aimed for his heart. "Like I said I won't let him hurt you, my friend. I care too much about my friends and I don't want to lose anyone else today," I said giving him a smile.  
I stiffened as I heard something that sounded like a thousand birds chirping. I teleported myself over to stand in front of Zabuza right as Kakashi struck with his Chidori. I moved to the left ever so slightly and felt the attack go through my left shoulder. I stared at Kakashi who stared at me in horror.  
"You all right Zabuza?" I asked over my good shoulder.  
"I'm fine. What about you and Haku?" he asked.  
"He's going to be fine my healer is already with him and this wound will close as soon as my sensei removes his hand from the wound," I said with a smile. I grasped Kakashi's arm and drew it out of the hole he had created in my torso. As soon as it was out a black chakra surrounded the wound and started to close it. At the same time the mist lifted as Zabuza released the technique he had been forced to use against us.  
"Good to see you're all right old friend," he said smiling the same way that Kakashi would smile with his eye. I nodded and turned so that I was facing back the way I had come. I snarled at the man who had thrown the senbon that had pierced Nachuraru's heart. "He's the one that attacked us when we got here. I don't know how, but he knew that you would be here and that Haku and I were going to meet you here," Zabuza continued when he noticed who I was snarling at. I growled louder and in the next instant I was behind the man and had gripped him by the neck. I slowly crushed his windpipe while the wolves started to rip pieces of his flesh off. A few seconds later and I had ripped out his throat killing him in a very unpleasant way.  
"HEY NARUTO! You did it you defeated the enemy. Oh... Hey where is Sasuke?" Sakura yelled over to Naruto. I saw him hang his head and avoided meeting her eyes. I didn't need to watch to know what happened next. I heard her choke and then Tazuna and her were running over to where my cousin and mate had fallen in combat. I felt tears slide down my cheeks as I realized how much Naruto cared for my cousin.  
"Well, well what do we have here? It seems that the great demon from the mist has failed to take out his target and to think he was stopped by a bunch of kids. Oh, well at least I had the forethought to hire a backup so that I could kill you anyway," a man said as he walked forward from within a crowd of bandits and thieves. I growled softly and saw Haku appear in front of the man who kicked the boy in the stomach before he could attack. The man raised his leg to strike Haku again and I gave a loud snarl which changed into a roar before it passed my lips.  
"Zabuza, do remember what I told you about keeping your demon locked up until you needed it?" I asked once I had the old man's attention on me and away from Haku. I saw him nod out of the corner of my eye. "Good because now is the time to release the demon inside and take our revenge on that idiot," I snarled performing some quick hand signs and ending on the dragon.  
"ULTIMATE SEAL RELEASE: DEMON SEAL RELEASE!" I shouted as I finished the hand signs. I was enveloped in a black chakra and when it disappeared I stood there in a form that would cause anyone to cower in fear. I was covered in black scales with red stripes from head to toe and had two large dragon wings sprouting from my back. My fingernails had turned into claws and my muscles had grown in size and now I had pointed razor sharp teeth that were ready to rip the flesh off my enemy. I opened my eyes and they were completely blood red except for the slit of a pupil I had. I whipped my muscular tail back and forth impatiently and felt the poison seep out of my scales.  
"What's the matter, Gato? Scared to face two demons or are you just afraid of my true form?" I snarled at the man who backed away. When he turned tail and fled back towards his group Zabuza and I took off after him. We ran right into the midst of his group and I killed everyone who tried to touch Zabuza and myself. When we burst out from the crowd I lifted into the air and shot straight for the man who had hired the person who had killed my mate and injured my friends and family. Zabuza got to him first and stabbed him in the heart with a kunai before taunting him about going to hell. I swooped down at that moment and lifted Gato into the air.  
"When you see Scourge in hell tell him I said hi and to give you the special treatment," I said before punching him through the chest and letting him fall into the water. I turned my attention back to the gang of cowards who were about to gang up on Zabuza, but I swooped in again and removed Zabuza before the gang could attack. I set down between my group of friends and the group of thugs. The thugs charged at us, but stopped when a bolt fell from the sky and landed at their feet.  
"If you want to raid our village you're going to have to get past us first," Inari yelled and the villagers backed him up. They looked a little started when howls and roars of varying pitches joined their shout of defiance. I joined the sound of the pack by giving voice to my rage and drowning out most of the people and packmates. The enemy shook in fear as my roar was answered by three more roars of pain and fury.  
"Your boss made a huge mistake by targeting the people I care for ad you guys are going to pay for his mistake the same way he did. _With your lives_," I hissed at the bandits. They stood there shaking like cornered mice before turning tail and fleeing to their boat. A few of them were able to make it onto the boat before Nightpitch dove from the sky and capsized it. The other bandits started to run towards the side that she wasn't on, but stopped when Bloodwings landed on that side of the bridge.  
"Well, boys it looks like we don't have a choice. We have to push our way through the enemy and those villagers if we want to escape with our lives," one of them called out. I laughed at his stupidity and started to change half of my scales to a crystal white color that reflected the sunlight. Then I released my hold on the dragon demon's chakra and let my birth marks take effect. This time instead of red stripes I had black stripes on the white half of my body and white stripes on the black half of my body.  
Before any of them could move I had drawn my white sword and stabbed the man who spoke through the heart. I pulled the blade out and the others cowered before me. Many of them turn and ran to the gap in the bridge thinking they could escape that way. As the first man jumped off he was thrown back onto the bridge where he became nothing but a blood stain on the bridge. A white as snow dragon with a black flame on his left front leg crouched in front of the group. He snarled and his color hanged from pure white to a crimson red in the span of a second. I turned my back on the scene and the other two leaped forward to finish off the group in a bath of fire. I walked away, not even bothered by the heat that was released by the attack, and didn't stop until I stood in front of my mate's body. I sheathed my weapon and dropped to my knees and just stared at his motionless body.  
I saw Tigerspirit making her way over to me and snarled at her in a way that said take care of the seriously injured first. I didn't move from the spot next to my mate even when the sun set. I just sat there and stared at him until I couldn't take it anymore and let out a painfully sad howl. I saw my friends and family flinch before those who could express their sorrow and pain joined my howling with their own grief filled sounds.  
"Tazuna it would be best if you go home for now. You won't get any more work done today I'm afraid," my second deputy said.  
"All right. I'll head back and leave the rest of the building for tomorrow. Come on guys," Tazuna answered him. After he left I stood up and turned to face my pack.  
"My friends and family, today we lost a great warrior and even better step-father. Nachuraru was a good person and he didn't deserve to be dragged into this fight when he had nothing to do with it to begin with. He was a great Alpha male and even better mate. The pack and clan have lost a very faithful, loyal, and understanding leader today. Now we will hold the vigil that we give to all warriors at their passing. Let us remember the good times we had with him and not the sad ones. Let's never forget what this person has done for us and let's never forget him. Tonight we lost one great warrior, but we were able to save two of my old friends and both of them were able to survive the wounds inflicted on them during the fight and will be allowed to join us if they wish. They don't have to accept, but if they do we will welcome them with open arms to our family. Now let those who were closest to the deceased please come and join me around his body so we can say our finally goodbyes and watch over him as he joins our ancestors on the other side," I finished taking a seat right above his head.  
"Wh-," Sakura started before Sasuke slapped his hand over her mouth.  
"Do not speak to her right now because if you break this ritual there is a good chance that she will kill you before you can move from that spot," he whispered in her ear. He let go of her mouth and started to make his way over to me. I was about to stand and help him, but stopped when Naruto wordlessly helped him over to sit beside me. Naruto gently put my cousin down and turned to go, but stopped and took a seat close by. I looked at my cousin ad saw that he was still covered in needles and gently pulled him towards me. I gently pulled out the needles and when he grimaced in pain Naruto gave him his jacket so that he could bite that without making a sound. After I pulled out the needles I pulled out a jar of salve and smeared it over the wounds before making sure that he didn't have any internal injuries. When I was satisfied with his condition I let him return to his seat on my right side. He sat down and I smiled ever so slightly when Naruto moved a little closer to my cousin. 'At least something good happened from all of this' I thought bitterly.  
{Kakashi's POV}  
I watched as the dragons and many of the wolves and tigers crowded around Kiba. I felt bad for her as she had been telling the truth about the puppet master and because I hadn't trusted her she had lost someone important to her, again. I winced as I remembered the pain I felt everyday for the same reason. I pulled down my headband and covered my Sharingan eye as a boy walked over to us.  
"Are you Kakashi and Sakura?" the boy from before asked. I looked up at him and noticed that he had black cat ears on his head and a black tail, as well. "Please ignore my tail and ears I'm meant to be beside my leader and her first deputy. My name is Blackpanther and as I'm sure you can guess I'm her second deputy when they aren't in the village," he continued.  
"Okay well how do you know Kiba?" I asked.  
"She saved me and my mother from my bastard of a father," Blackpanther said.  
"And who was your father?" I pressed trying to learn more about my fourth student. The boy stiffened at my question and curled his lip in disgust as he thought about something.  
"My father is someone that I won't tell you about because he is more connected to my mother and leader than he ever was to me. For Kami's sake the jerk killed my brothers and sisters and then he sent me after my leader and told me not to come back if I didn't kill her. He even abandoned my mother and I when Kiba showed up to try and finish what he started," he growled at me.  
"Okay. Now what does Kiba want?" I asked.  
"My leader has decided that the two of you may sit vigil with us if you wish, but you should know if you try and talk during this sacred practice many of those near you will not hesitate to attack you. This is a ritual that allows the people closest to the deceased a period of time where they can think back on the times they shared with the person and gives them a chance to accept the death of the person. It only works for some people and for those few who are lucky, or unlucky, enough to be visited by spirits this is a chance for them to talk to that person before the next half moon meeting," he explained why they did this. I nodded my head and we were lead to a spot where we were close to Kiba and the others.  
I watched Kiba as Blackpanther changed into his animal form, which ironically was a black panther. I sat there and quietly thought about everything that I knew about Kiba and her family. We stayed like this for hours and it seemed like the weather was grieving alongside Kiba because it started to rain and those who weren't grieving took shelter from the rain and the three dragons extended their wings and kept the rain off everyone, but Kiba and Nachuraru. I saw Kiba lift her head towards the sky and it seemed like she was asking Kami why this was happening. As the sun rose the rain tempered off and Kiba rose a few minutes after the sun had and picked up Nachuraru's body. She and the dragons moved a few feet away from the others before she set the body down and backed a few feet away.  
"All right guys lets finish this," she choked out. The three dragons nodded their heads slowly and sucked in a large breath each before bathing the body in flames. Kiba didn't move away from the heat and even took a step closer to the fire. I saw her bow her head as tears flowed freely down her face. She stayed like that until she dropped to her knees and put a hand to her face covering her mouth in what appeared to be shame.  
"Are you all right, my friend?" Zabuza asked as he teleported to her side. The boy she was fighting earlier appeared beside her as well and tried to comfort her as best he could, but Kiba brushed him off and turned away as the flames died down and left nothing, but ash behind. She walked forward and picked up a handful of ash before standing and releasing it into the air.  
"My loves I have once again failed to protect you and once again it is because you sacrificed yourself for my sake. I will never forget the sacrificed you both made for me. I just hope that you will forgive me for what I plan on doing next," she whispered as the ash blew away on the wind. She spun on her heel and limped back over to her cousin who was looking much better considering the number of needles he had taken during the fight. It was at this point that I noticed she still had a few needles in her leg, which was why she was limping.  
"Sasuke, it's time I told them the truth about my past and who I really am," Kiba said to Sasuke who wrapped an arm around her midsection as she started to fall forward.  
"Kiba are you sure you want them to know your past?" Zabuza asked approached the two.  
"You know very well that no matter what either of us say she is going to tell them, so we may as well support her and help her tell them who she really is in case she needs someone to keep the other's from attacking her in case they decide to turn against her," Naruto said helping Sasuke hold Kiba up.  
"What are you talking about turning on Kiba? Why would we do that?" I asked walking closer to them. They didn't answer, but motioned for me and Sakura to follow them as they led us into the woods. We walked until we came to a clearing that had a spot for us to rest without hurting ourselves too much. We sat down and Kiba waited until she had calmed down enough to speak without chocking on her words. We sat in silence as we waited for her to start her story.  
**(What her life story and how will the other two react to her story. Will they accept her? Or will they turn on her? Who will help her now and what will happen to Zabuza and Haku? Will she ever find peace and what did Nachuraru's last words really mean? Also I want to know if anyone can guess who those characters are. If you know who they are comment on my profile.)~Kiba-chan**


	6. Her Life, Her Pain

**(Now it begins. Pay attention to what she says because it should reveal some things and answer some questions.)~Kiba-chan**  
"speech" **'thought speech'**'thought' (Author Note)  
{Kiba's POV}  
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself, so that I could get a grip before I lost it for real. I felt hands placed on my back and they started to rub circles in my back. I glanced over at the person rubbing my back and saw Naruto and Haku both looking at me with concern. I gave a sad smile and took a shaky breath a few more times before folding my hands under my head, the same way my cousin always did.  
"Make sure that you're comfy because this is going to take awhile," I said looking at the others nervously.  
"Kiba. Stop stalling and just get it over with," Zabuza stated. I glared at him and he glared back at me.  
"Shut up Zabuza. You know how hard this is for me," I snarled without any real emotion. He rolled his eyes and motioned for me to continue as Kakashi and Sakura were in a comfortable position. Kakashi was leaning against a tree and Sakura was sitting closer to Sasuke than anyone else, but was kept at bay by Blackpanther and Bloodeyes.  
"Now that you're ready listen and listen well because when I finish I'm not going to go through this again. Got it?" I said giving them a real glare. They both nodded their heads and I lowered my eyes away from their faces. I hid my eyes behind my bangs and started my life story for what I hoped would be the last time.  
"I know that you know about the tailed beasts, but there is one that is more powerful than the Kyuubi that attacked your village twelve years ago. Shortly after I was born the guardians of my village chose me to be both of their vessels," I started, but was interrupted by Bloodeyes.  
**'You forgot to tell them about our village and the two beasts'**Bloodeyes reminded me. I gave a small nod and continued my story.  
"Before I go into more detail about me there is something that you need to understand about my home village. In Densetsu we live in groups called clans. Normally we remain in the clan we are born in, but there are a few of us that leave our home clan because we don't fit in with our other form. Each clan is full of warriors and we start our training earlier than you do. Most start their training at the age of six years old. Before I was born my village was protected by two beasts. One of them was a tailed beast that everyone outside of my village feared, her name is Difenda and she is a black wolf with red tiger stripes. She is also the thirteen tailed beast and she is a very calm and thoughtful person, but she becomes almost completely impossible to control when my family and friends. Sakura you saw her true form when you caught me practicing and Kakashi you saw part of her form when I came to you that day. The other guardian was a black and red striped dragon who everyone feared because of her temper. Her name is Kira and as her name suggests she is the hot head of the two and would rather kill her enemies than let them live to fight again. You all saw what she looked like when I first released the seals that were put in place to limit their power. It could only be released by someone who had the same power level as the Kage of my village. The Kages of my village change what they are called because each Kage we have ever had has been someone who didn't match with the title of the previous one. The Kage that performed the seal on me was named the Okamikage (wolf shadow) and he gave his life to perform the jutsu and grant the command of our guardians. When he died the second Kage took over again until the one who was decided on the same day of my birth. He was called the Ketsuekikage (Blood shadow) and shortly after I turned one he moved me from my birth clan to Legendclan where I was trained by a man named Jaguarstar, who is one of the leaders there, along with a dragon who taught me how to use my dragon form and h-he was my best friend and m-my first dragon," I chocked as I remembered their faces. I felt something embrace me in a hug and I saw two white scaled arms wrapped around my mid section as Dragonheart silently comforted me. I silently let him comfort me in the only way that he knew how. I gave him a nod and let my sobs subside before returning to my story.  
"What do you mean was, isn't he still there?" Sakura asked. I shook my head as the rest of my body stiffened at her assumption.  
"No, Sakura I meant _was_not _is_because I know for a fact that he is dead. He was not only my teacher and dragon, but he was also the first dragon who showed himself to anyone. He was the one who created a contract with me that works both ways. Because of his connection with me and the dragons around the world he was one of the first to die because he was so close to me. He had three heads and was named Hydrak, Hydron, and Hydran because each head had a different mind then the others. Hydrak was the oldest of the three, because he was the first to open his eyes, and was very calm and had an older brother attitude. Hydron was the second oldest and he was more arrogant and quick to defend anyone who was insulted. The youngest was Hydran and he taught me to have a thick skin so that when I was teased or picked on I could take it without hurting the innocent, but at the same time he taught me how to bide my time until I could get revenge on the person in a way that was harmless and wouldn't get me in too much trouble. All of them taught me some of my favorite pranks and they were the father of Nightpitch. Jaguarstar was like a second father to me because he was always there when I needed someone to talk to; he was a great leader to my old clan and even now he's trying to get the few who think their life is better without me to realize that they need me in their village to keep the village strong," I explained. She nodded her head in understanding and I returned to my story.  
"When I was born the two guardians were looking for a suitable vessel to live in and I was presented to them alongside my brothers and many other newborns. Even though we were all very young we could sense their power and many of us shied away when they came near, but I actually reached out towards the two beasts. Everyone there was surprised at my reaction to their presence, but they thought that I would make the perfect vessel for them both because I reacted that way. Shortly after I reached out to them, they were sealed inside of me and their chakras started to mix with my natural chakra and because of that now I can use any chakra type I want and a few special ones that I figured out the two beasts held within them. However, because they both chose me as their vessel many people became jealous of me and, when I was older, beat me for taking away something that their parents told them they should have had or because I had taken the chance away from their sons and daughters. On my first birthday I began my training to become a ninja, five years before most kids began their training. I started early because on my first birthday I was able to change into a human instead of just the normal animals. I started at the academy that very day and excelled very quickly. I thought that maybe now people will stop picking on me, but as I moved up into the higher classes the bullying got much, much worse. I did figure out that if I stayed in my weretiger form people would respect me and leave me alone for fear of the wrath of the other tigers in the village. I was able to make a few loyal friends in that form and even when they found out who I really was they accepted me and stayed my friends. They even tried to protect me from my bullies, but I told them not to interfere since I could heal my wounds before I got to class. Six months after I joined the academy I graduated to the rank of genin alongside my friends. I was placed on a team with two of them and we made a great team. Shortly after we became genin my marks appeared and I was given my warrior name. The marks resembled stripes and at first I only had white ones, but a few hours later an identical set of black marks had appeared opposite my white ones. Both sets resembled stripes so my name included the word stripes in it. They were my light and darkness stripes that told everyone in my village that I was a balanced soul and heart, but because I had more white stripes than black ones I was considered a light. Shortly after I gained my warrior name I met a boy about the same age me and he was being picked on by a bunch of older kids and I stepped up and took the beating for him. When the kids realized who they had attacked they took off running before my brothers showed up. I healed the kid and learned his name was Scourge. We became great friends after that, but I later learned that he was the leader of the gang that had been attacking my village a few months earlier and I talked to him about it and how he wasn't really happy with where he was and how he had never even wanted the position in the first place, but the gang had forced him to be their leader. After talking it out with him we came up with a plan to fake his death and join me in my clan. We brought my team and clan in on it and we set it into action. When my teammate, then known as Fireclaw, 'killed' Scourge during the battle his gang turned tail and fled only to be hunted down and brought in by my village. After the fight I carried Scourge's unconscious body back to my clan's healer, Butterflywing, and she healed him and when he woke up h-he told me h-how much he cared for me and h-he proposed," I choked on the last word as I rested a hand on my collar. I heard a mournful howl and cringed as I recognized the howler.  
"You mean you got married when you were just a child?" Kakashi asked. I didn't even bother to look at him as I answered, "Yes." I heard him move from his spot and walk over to me. "Kiba do you know how wrong that is? Did your parents even approve of it?" he asked grabbing me and trying to make me look him in the eyes.  
"You know even less about my village then I thought you did. In my village it is not uncommon for people to get married at that age because while we are young as a human as an animal we are already more than old enough to marry and have those kinds of relationships. Especially, the few weredragons that exist. My parents were excited to hear that I had found a mate and one that completed my soul, since he had both marks, but he leaned more towards the dark side. You need to keep in mind that even though I was only two I human years as a cat I was well past the mating age," I snarled, knocking his hands off me. I saw him back off with a startled look on his face and I returned to my seat.  
"After he proposed to me he changed his name to Bloodtigerheart and joined my team as the fourth member. At this time I was very close to becoming a leader for my clan and a month after the ceremony I had my first litter and we named them Bloodeyes, Iceeyes, and Bloodtiger because they had inherited our eyes and forms, but with small differences. We were both tigers, but Bloodeyes inherited my wolf form and Bloodtigerheart's colors while Bloodtiger and Iceeyes were both tigers that had our unique coloration, but Bloodtiger had red stripes on a black pelt and Iceeyes had inherited her father's ice blue eyes. We lived happily until the Chuunin exams came up and my team was selected to participate in them. We passed the entire thing without much trouble, since it was only tournaments and stealth tests. When we returned from the exams the Ketsuekikage promote my team to Chuunin level and we began to have private missions that couldn't be given to genin. A few months later and I had had two more litters. The second one had Dragonheart here in it along with his brother Whitekit and his sister Silverpup; both were born very sick and died a few days later. The third had Lionroar and Grayscale in it and both left their birth clan and joined my birth clan, Thunderclan. After their birth I was able to defeat Jaguarstar in battle for the ninth time and my name changed again. I went from being a kit to a paw, then to stripes, and I had finally achieved the rank of leader and star. From that day on I was visited by my animal spirits at night and they would teach me new ways to fight. Once I was blessed to be visited by the first Kage of my village, the Taiyokage (sun shadow). She taught me about my village and shared many secrets of it with me. These were some of the happiest months of my life, but when I had my last two litters topped it all. In the fourth litter my sons Firepitch and Darktalon were born and they are two of my best scouts to this day. In my last litter my son Wolfspirit and my daughter Tigerspirit were born, but they never got to meet their father because shortly before they were born I had my third birthday and was forced to flee my village. On that day I was returning home from a mission and on the way back I came across my dragon's body. He was very weak and looked as if he had been attacked by a pride of large cats because he had more claw marks than bite marks and his wings had been broken, so that ruled out other dragons sine a downed dragon was usually a dead dragon. I didn't even hesitate as I ran to his side and found him still alive enough to pass on a warning that whoever had done this was going after my family. I remember the pain and fear that shot through me as those words seeped into my mind. I remember spinning on my heel and giving the clan call of danger before racing towards my house. I was fortunate enough to have both my mate and my brothers with me on that particular mission, so I at least had back up in case I got into a fight. We raced to my parent's house and it was already ablaze when we got there, but I still ran in and tried to pull them out. They begged me to leave them and save my family, but I didn't listen until I heard the sound of battle outside the house and Firestar's roar to protect me. Only then did I do as they begged of me and fled for my life. We ran outside and I saw warriors from every clan fighting and some of them were fighting their own clan mates for my sake. I was devastated to hear that the enemy thought I had killed the Ketsuekikage, but I was more focused and getting out of there still alive. As we fled the village a group broke off of the enemies group and tried to stop us from leaving the village. I put them in a genjutsu with my Mangekyou Sharingan. It pained me to do that because two of them were very good friends of mine, but I wasn't going to physically hurt them so I locked them in the jutsu before we ran off. As we neared the gate another boy appeared I front of us and accused me of treason by killing the Okamikage so that I could take his place as the Kage of our village. I denied it and was outraged to see that it was my on deputy that was accusing me of killing the Okamikage when I saw him as my father. The worst part thogh was that he told me was the deputy of the gang that my mate had once lead and that he accused me of betraying him by being with Bloodtigerheart. I couldn't believe that I hadn't realized who he was, I mean for crying out loud I had trained beside the guy in preparation for the battle and I didn't recognize him when I promoted him to my deputy. He tried to attack my mate and was able t get in one punch before I used my speed and punched him in the gut enough times that he coughed up blood and fell to his knees. We thought we had defeated him so we continued on our way, but before we could make it out of the village that baka threw his katana at me and Bloodtigerheart took the sword that was meant for me. The sword went through his lung and cut a major artery and he still insisted on fighting the boy even though he knew that he would die in the battle. I-I lost everything that day: my parents, my best friend, my clan, my mate, and my village. Shortly after I fled I saw a wanted poster that was offering a huge reward for my death. It was sent out by my ex-deputy and when I saw it I made sure to send out my own wanted posters that had a larger reward for that man's death. Shortly after that I was attacked by ninja from the hidden villages every other week sometimes more often than that, but once I learned who the people were that were responsible for my predicament I enacted my own justice on the bastards. I hunted them down when my brothers left me alone and killed them, but unlike them I ever drew their family into the confrontations because even though I had been forced from my village I still had a little of my honor left. Many of them didn't have family because they were so cruel to their mates. I killed them and the ones that did have mates usually abused them in ways similar to Blackpanther's mother. Even though I no longer belonged to Densetsu village I was happy to hear that they had a new Kage. Last I heard he was calling himself the Yami to Hikari no Kage I don't hold anything against the village. If anything I still care for my home village even if there are people there that don't believe my brothers and the few friends that I have there," I said. I looked up at the other two and waited for their reactions to my story.  
"Actually that explains almost everything. What did you say you name was?" Kakashi asked me.  
"IwascalledWhitetigerstar," I mumbled hoping he wouldn't ask me to repeat it.  
"I'm sorry what was that?"  
"I said my name was Whitetigerstar," I said a little clearer this time. I looked away not able to stand seeing my mentor and guardian give me the same look that the enemy ninja who tried to kill me had in their eyes. I felt my son's grip tighten around my torso and I reached down and gently removed his arms. I smiled at him and didn't even try to dodge the kunai that came at my left side. A second before it could enter my flesh my son's tail snapped up and grabbed the weapon in mid-air a millimeter before the point could enter my side. I still didn't raise my eyes from my son as I felt someone lift me and pull me away from him.  
"You're **the**Whitetigerstar?! The most wanted person alive!?" Kakashi asked as he lifted my by the front of my shirt.  
"Yes," I whispered still not taking my eyes off my son. I heard the punch coming and didn't try to stop it because I didn't think there was a point after all I deserved far worse than this. I felt the punch stop a millimeter from my face and I didn't even flinch seeing the fist so close to my face.  
"What is wrong with you? Do you not care about what others think or do think that you deserve to die?" Kakashi asked lowering his fist.  
"So what if I do it's not like I deserve to live let alone have a reason to live! Not even knowing that I still have family and a responsibility can make me forget what I've done! You want to know why I was so tough on Sasuke when he mentioned revenge as his life goal? Because I was just like him and now look at me. I'm an outcast and considered a traitor everywhere I go! For crying out loud I'm considered so dangerous that they had to make a new classification just to express how dangerous I am! In the water country I'm considered a triple S-ranked rouge ninja, the wind country considers me a quadruple S-ranked rouge ninja, the fire country considers me a double S-ranked rouge ninja, and that's not even going into what the individual villages think of me! So tell me what's the point of living if you have nothing to live for? Or if you regret your entire Kami cursed life? If there is a reason for me to live then tell me because as far as I'm concerned my village would be a whole lot safer if I died right here in the same place that one of my mates died," I yelled at the white haired ninja letting out all of my frustration and anger.  
"Kiba. Do you really think that your cousins would be the same without you in their lives? Or your children's lives? Would they really be better off without you? Would the people standing here right now still be here if you hadn't been at the battle yesterday? Do you really think that we care about the fact that you're a wanted person because if you do then maybe you do deserve to die here," Kakashi said being completely serious. I thought about what he said and decided that he was right about everything, especially the part about my cousins' lives because I knew for a fact that Sasuke would've hid his feelings for Naruto if I hadn't been there for him to talk to.  
"You can put her down Kakashi. She's got the point and realized you were right," Zabuza said. I looked at him with gratitude evident in my eyes. I sighed as I was put down and finally looked away from my son and looked at Kakashi and Sakura for the first time since the argument had started. What I saw amazed even the two beasts. Both of them were looking at me the same way that my cousins looked at me whenever I had one of those dreams. I felt tears roll down my cheeks and I smiled at them.  
"Thank you, Kakashi. Sakura. What you just said reminded me that even if my life has been hell there is still a chance for me to be happy. And for that I thank you both because you both excepted me for who I am and that is something that very few people that I'm not related to have ever done," I said.  
"How many others have you told this to?" Sakura asked.  
"I've told this to five other people and only four of them are still alive that know my story of how I became the way I am right now. However, you only know one of them and the others probably hate my guts," I answered. Kakashi nodded his head in understanding and let it go without anymore arguments.  
"Well I'm happy for you, old friend. I truly hope that you find a place where you can be accepted and appreciated the way that Zabuza appreciates me," Haku said giving a small smile.  
"Hahahaha. Thanks Haku. So what are two going to do now that you don't have to worry about Gato and the other ninjas?," I asked.  
"I think we'll stay here and take you up on that offer you made us all those years ago. Besides I'm tired of running away from stuff the way I used to. I think this will be a great place to settle down and live," Zabuza answered.  
"Well I wish you both the best of luck, but I think it's time I returned home to my village and to my remaining family," I said. We gave each other a quick hug and wished the other the best of luck before Haku and Zabuza helped us pack everything and saw us off along with the rest of the villagers, who had agreed to let Zabuza and Haku stay with them as a favor to the person who killed their tormentor. We waved good-bye to each other and my team and I crossed what would soon become known as the Great Naruto Uzumaki Bridge.  
We traveled for a few days and passed close by the Wind Country and late that night when everyone else was asleep I slipped out with Nightpitch for a midnight flight. We just flew for hours and landed shortly before daybreak. When the others got up I was already packed and ready to leave. Nightpitch decided that I was going to ride with her until we got back to the village and we continued on our journey home. Nothing else of significance happened on the way there, but a few days after we arrived home I found some young ones who were abandoned in the forest. There were three in all a small male green dragon, who varied between shades of green as he moved, a male green wolf pup, he was a darker green than Nachuraru, and a female panther, who was a light shade of gray. I named the hatchling Emeraldwing, the pup Nature, and the cub Silver.  
I cared for them for a few weeks after finding them and learned how old they were and when the third week came to a close all three of them were more than ready to be given mentors. I chose Dragonheart for Emeraldwing, Bloodeyes for Nature, and Blackpanther for Silver, and they were all very happy to hear that they had gotten such great mentors. I sent them off and returned back to the village and my team without worrying about the three young ones.  
About a month after we returned from the Land of Waves everything was back to normal including the lame missions we were sent on. Once when we were out walking dogs as a mission Naruto's dragged him into a field that happened to be covered in mines. I was a little spaced out because I was thinking about Nachuraru and Bloodtigerheart, so I was very happy when Kakashi said we could go home for the day. I decided to go to the nearby training fields and see what my other cousins had been doing in the weeks that I had been away on the mission to the Land of Waves. Everything was good, but I was still in one of my darker moods that day so when I heard a scream coming from the direction of Naruto and Sakura I was thrown into a small rage.  
I ran as fast as I could and when I got there I gave a silent gasp. Standing in the street was Kankuro and he was holding Konohamaru off the ground by the front of his shirt. I saw Temari behind Kankuro, but she looked like she had given up already. I ground my teeth as Naruto yelled at Kankuro.  
"You know I really hate little punks like you. You go and shoot your mouth off when you're really just a weakling and do you know what I do with weaklings? I break them in half," Kankuro replied to Naruto. He lifted up his other arm and was going to punch Konohamaru when I decided to show myself. I jumped down from the tree and stood between him and Naruto.  
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I told the cat eared boy.  
"Oh really? You think you can stop me? I'd like to see you try," Kankuro said smirking at me.  
"Yeah because I total have time to deal with a weakling like you, Kankuro." I saw him pause when I said his name. 'Good. He's still the dork he was all those years ago' I thought to myself flashing a smirk.  
"What are you so smug about?"  
"Oh nothing, at least nothing that concerns you." Kankuro glowered at me and made as if to punch the kid again, but this time I moved to stand directly behind him and gave him a hard punch to the gut before activating my Byakugan and hitting the correct muscles to make him release Konohamaru. Before he even blinked it was over and I was back where I was standing seconds earlier with Konohamaru in my arms.  
"How did you do that?" Temari asked me, moving forward to catch Kankuro before he could hit the ground. I winced as I saw the damage I had done to him. I gently set Konohamaru down and turned back to face Kankuro and Temari.  
"I would expect someone of you caliber and skill to know how I was able to do it. Not that it maters I can still kill you both without trying, so think about your next move," I snarled. 'What the hell am I doing? I can't hurt them even if they hate my guts' I thought a little startled as to why I was acting this way. At that moment I heard the roar of a dragon on the hunt and it was coming right at us.  
"Naruto take Sakura and the others and run. If you stay here I can't guarantee that this will work," I shouted over my shoulder as the dragon went into a killing spiral. Right before it hit Temari and Kankuro a wall of sand appeared and the startled dragon pulled out of his dive. 'Kuso' I thought as the dragon aimed for the person above the sand shield. As the dragon gained altitude I saw the boy who had put up the sand wall return the sand to his gourd.  
"The both of you are idiots. You should know better than to start a fight when we are here on a mission," the boy growled. 'Kuso. Why the hell did _he_have to be here' I thought.  
"We're really sorry, Gaara. But they started it when the-," Kankuro started, but stopped when Gaara glared at him.  
"I don't are Kankuro. You were in the wrong when you decided to attack them," Gaara said in a monotone voice. I was a little startled to hear the change in his voice. He used to have such a bright and happy voice, but now it held no emotion and stayed the same no matter what he talked about it sounded the same. I stiffened when I heard the distant sound of dragon wings beating the air. I started moving before anyone could do anything to stop me. A second later the dragon dove out of the sky and aimed for the Sand Siblings. Two seconds till impact and I was standing in front of them and the dragon was almost on them. One second to impact and I pulled out a necklace that I had once given to Gaara just as the dragon started to build up a flame. Once the dragon saw the necklace he changed direction and flew over us.  
"What the hell is wrong with my air support today," I yelled at the trees. I heard a roar in reply and started to walk away from the other team. I was a few feet away and noticed that Sasuke had jumped in front of Naruto and Sakura when the dragon had appeared. I was a few feet away when I heard something flying through the air. I spun around and threw my arm up and deflected the sand to move around my body and fall harmlessly to the ground. I snorted at the weak attempt and continued to walk back to my team.  
"How did you do that and who are you," Gaara called after me.  
"Who I am and how I did that is none of your concern, Gaara. And if I was you I would head back to the Sunagakure Village before you make my life even more difficult," I said glaring at Gaara. Gaara didn't really seem surprised to hear me say his name, but he turned his attention to Sasuke and the others who were trying to sneak away.  
"HEY! Leave them be. If you want to be mad at someone be mad at me because maybe then I can find some peace if you can kill me." My last sentence got his attention focused on my again.  
"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer," Gaara yelled as he struck out at me. I easily avoided his sand again and kept dodging while I slowly got loser to him. When I was a few inches from him I grabbed my white sword and swung it stopping an inch before it would have entered his skin. 'Why am I attacking him? I have no reason to; I mean he didn't even hurt my friends or anything so why am I attacking him? And both beasts are as surprised as I am about this reaction, so what the hell is going on?' I thought. I stood with my sword very close to his throat and saw a shadow hiding behind Gaara.  
**'No wonder you're so mad his killing intent is clashing with your own want to kill, but while yours has a purpose his is just a need to kill an innocent person'**Difenda told me.  
**'Great then I guess I get to knock him out,'**I answered her. I quickly brought the hilt of my sword around and hit the Shukaku over the head. I saw surprise register on his face before he fell unconscious from the blow. I sheathed my sword and jumped away at the moment he passed out. I heaved a sigh as I felt the need to kill Gaara and his team fade away. I shook myself as the feeling passed.  
"Why didn't my sand stop your sword?" Gaara asked.  
"Because the sand knew that my blade would have gone right through it and cut you before you could move. Also my blade has a special ability that allows it to cut through anything," I said. Gaara appeared to accept this and I glanced over at Kankuro who was still doubled over clutching his stomach. I started to make my way over to him, but Temari moved between us.  
"You're not going to get anywhere near my brother," Temari said putting a hand on her fan.  
"Look I'm sorry I attacked you and I just want to heal his abdomen before it gets much worse. Besides what can you do against me that Gaara couldn't do against me? And if you want I can prove that I'm just going to heal him," I said to her. She looked a little uncertain, but moved aside nonetheless and I quickly made my way over to her brother. I performed the hand signs and a green colored chakra covered my hands as I healed his wounds.  
"There he should be able to move without any pain by the time the exams start," I said walking back to my team.  
"Thank you for healing him," Temari said.  
"I might have been angry, but that doesn't mean that I can't fix my mistake. Besides I'm still human even if I'm a ninja," I called back to her. She nodded her head and helped Kankuro stand up and then they turned to leave. I stuck my hands in my pocket and came across the necklace I had used to send the dragon away.  
"Hey, Gaara," I yelled getting his attention I threw him the necklace, which he caught. He looked confused as to why I had thrown him the necklace. "An old friend of you guys asked me to make sure you got that back, Gaara," I explained as he looked at the necklace. His face twisted in anger and he threw the necklace back at me. I caught it and sighed as I put it back in my pocket not really surprised at his reaction. "Well she can't say I didn't try to give t back." I watched them continue on their way knowing that soon they would hate me even more than they did at that moment.  
I turned to return to my team, but ended up being tackled to the ground by two little kids. I sat up and pulled them both into a loving hug as two boys and a girl walked over to us. I laughed at the little ones as the girl pulled me to my feet.  
"I've missed you Tawny and you Bramble. I missed my brothers as well," I said giving them each a hug. We all smiled at each other and started to walk back to my house with Sasuke and the rest of the team following us. We arrived and started chatting about why they were in the village. It turned out that my niece and nephew were there to take the exam to become Chuunin.  
"Well if you guys are going to take the test who's your third teammate?" I asked.  
"Oh, their third teammate is coming with her father and mother and I'm sure that they are both looking forward to seeing you again after so many years. In fact they should be here later this afternoon," Tigerstar answered.  
"Well I can't wait to meet your other friends, Kiba," Naruto said.  
"Heh. Yeah. I can't wait to see my friends again either and I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you to. Now if you will please excuse me I'm going to the arena to get in some more training before tomorrow," I said standing and heading towards the door.  
"Do you mind if I come with cousin," Sasuke asked.  
"Sure if you guys want to come and watch or train with me I don't mind," I answered him. Naruto got up and followed us out the door as well. "Before I forget do you guys have a place to stay tonight?" I called back to my brothers and their family.  
"Yeah we have hotel room ready for us and will probably leave after the rest of our team gets back," Faolan answered. I nodded my head and headed out the door to the arena. When we arrived at the arena I decided to train with one of the dragons and he was released from his pen. It was one of the rouge dragons that was still mad about his leader killed. This one just happened to be the three headed leader's grandson who also had three heads and hated me for not being able to save his grandfather that day, but not as much as I blamed myself.  
"All right remove the chains from his collar," I called out.  
"Kiba are you sure about this?" Sasuke asked.  
"I'm positive about this Sasuke, so don't worry about it. All right?" I answered.  
"Fine, but I'm not happy about this," Sasuke replied. I sigh grateful that he let me do this again. The chains are removed from the collar and the dragon rushes forward and tries to bite me. I dodged to the left and moved away from the others while getting ready for his next attack. This time one head went one way and the others tried to box me in, but I slipped onto his back and moved to a spot where none of the heads could reach me. At this point he took to the air and tried to spin me off his back before giving up and returning to the ground where he tried to set me on fire. I jumped off him at the last second and waited for his next move. 'This is getting troublesome an I need to get him to believe me or I'll end up with one of his offspring as an enemy for the rest of my life' I thought deciding to end the mini-war then and there.  
The next time he attacked me I grabbed the middle head and started to pout my chakra into it before switching to one of the other heads and doing the same thing. By the time I got to the last head I was low on my normal chakra, but I was still able to get the head to understand what had happened and how I felt about it. When I finished the Chakra and memory transfer I lost my grip on the head and fell towards the ground only for the middle head to catch me before I hit the ground.  
**'Kiba-chan I'm sorry for not believing you when you first told us what had happened and how you felt,'** he said guilt the one of the stronger emotions.  
"It's fine Darken. It's not like I gave you a reason to trust me. I mean I was a leader and I still couldn't protect those closest to me that day, so I don't really blame you for hating me. Any of you," I stated happy to sense concern for me radiating off them all. He smiled one of those dragon smiles and gently lifted me to sit on his back. "Thanks," I said giving a weak smile.  
** 'No thank you Kiba,'**Draco said.  
**'You have shown us we were wrong to hate you,'** Dragon said.  
**'And you have formed a bond like the one granddad used to tell us about'**they all said in unison. I smiled at them and allowed them to take off in flight for a few seconds.  
"Do you guys want to stay here or go back to the mansion?" I asked after I had regained some strength.  
**'We'll be fine here. Thanks for the offer though'**Drakon replied as they headed back to their pen. I nodded my head and told the others to leave that gate unlocked from now on and as we left arena I noticed that I had three more watchers than when I started.  
**'Bloodeyes get my brothers and their team out of here and tell them to tell my old friend to meet me at the training grounds tomorrow'**I said a little startled that those three had shown up here.  
**'Hey sis, why is your eldest son telling us to leave your house as fast as possible and without going by the normal routes?'** Tigerstar asked.  
**'Do you remember the time we spent in Suna?'**  
**'Of course I do why? Are those friends of yours here?'**I was silent and he answered his own question. **'Never mind I can smell them and we'll do as you ask. See you tomorrow sis.'**  
**'Yeah, see you later.'**I blocked off my other connections and made my way out of the arena on foot instead of by changing form or having Nightpitch lift me out. I walked out of the arena and Sasuke and Naruto joined me at the front gate before Gaara and his siblings stood in front of us.  
"Why are you three here?" I asked. Temari shot Kankuro a look and Gaara remained impassive when it came to facial expression, but his eyes said something else, but I couldn't put my finger on the emotion.  
"We're here because we got kicked out of our hotel and the Hokage and Kazekage told us we should come here since you have so many open houses," Temari answered.  
"What happened did Kankuro flirt with every girl at the hotel?" I asked. I saw Kankuro look surprised and I burst out laughing. "Oh my God! You actually did that?! No wonder you got kicked out." I was holding my sides from how hard I had been laughing. I eventually calmed down enough to speak without giggling after every word. "Yeah you guys can stay here, but you'll have to stay at my place since most of the houses are occupied at this time of the year."  
"How can that be I heard this whole clan had been wiped out a few years ago, so how can the houses be full?" Kankuro asked. I felt Sasuke stiffen at his tone of voice and the way he just casually talked about the destruction of his clan.  
"Cousin calm down they aren't from our village and don't know what really happened that night and it's going to stay that way," I whispered placing a calming hand on his shoulder. I saw the rage calm to nothing more than a boil and spoke to the others. "Just because we said that the clan was mostly destroyed doesn't mean that this was the only place where an Uchiha clan lived. And the houses are filled because my family doesn't like to leave my side anymore than I like to leave their sides. And unlike you two I didn't leave my cousin to suffer by himself and stayed by his side even when he tried to push me away. I never let him go down the path I saw my friend go down, the path that destroyed her life and took everything from her and if you thee don't care to remember what she sacrificed for you, her family, and her village then I suggest you go to the Hokage and ask him if you can stay at one of his safe houses or something and then the next time you see the Kazekage tell him to get his damn facts straight cuss I'm tired of cleaning up his messes and to keep a watch on Densetsu cause last I checked we don't like to have our friends and leaders insulted by genin," I snarled. Gaara's eyes showed shock at the hint I had left about how his brother and sister had left him to suffer alone. Temari and Kankuro both looked startled at the fact that I knew Gaara had suffered and they had left him to fight on his own.  
"Come on guys let's go," Sasuke called over his shoulder. I was the last one to leave and shot them one more glare before dropping to all fours and taking off after them. As I ran I heard wing beats coming from over head and I glanced up and saw Bloodwings coming in low. He looked curious as to why I was in a bad mood and instead of answering him I jumped onto his back and we took off towards my house. We flew slow enough for Sasuke and Naruto to stay ahead of us. We arrived a few seconds before my teammates and I headed to my usual spot on the roof after making sure that my cousin and friend were both safe and in the house, the sun was just beginning to set and I could see the half moon in the sky by the time everyone else was settled and I had explained everything to the clan.  
I sat and started up at the half moon and thought about what I was happening in my old village when I heard three sets of footsteps land on my roof. I didn't even turn and to face the ninja, I just stayed there and ignored their presence staring at the night sky. The ninja didn't move from where they were, but I could smell the fear that radiated off one of them and felt the curious eyes of another on me. I curled my lip in disgust as I realized that two of them truly feared my power when they once loved the power I held within me. We stayed like this for a few minutes before one of them got up the courage to walk over and sit down next to me. I knew it was Temari because she was the only one who really didn't dislike the aura that surrounded me. I didn't mind her being so close and actually felt a little more relaxed when I realized who it was. I was relaxed enough to lean back and pull my leg up into a more comfortable position.  
We stayed like this and watched as the sun finished its journey on our side of the world. I felt the tension rise from Temari and Kankuro just as the sun winked out of the sky. I didn't need to look at them to know that they were scared and nervous to be there, so I decided to end their suffering. I motioned for them to follow me and led them to the second floor that had the spare bedrooms on it making sure to put them as far from the others as possible.  
"Here one of you can stay here if you want and the two rooms on either side of this one are both empty as well, but make sure not to get to startled if the door or window opens in the middle of the night. Most of the others that live here are nocturnal and like to explore the house, so some of the younger ones might come in here, but I seriously doubt you'll have to worry about it. They all got worked pretty hard today," I said turning to return to the roof.  
"Aren't you worried that we might do something to hurt you or your friends?" Gaara asked as I turned away.  
"If I was worried about you hurting anyone none of you would've been able to get passed the gate whether you had a pass or not. But I'm not worried because I know that I can take you all on and still not use my most powerful skills. Besides not even you would be stupid enough to attack a group that has more than three dragons living with them," I called back. I climbed up the side of the house and returned to my spot on top of the roof where I could see the village. It brought back memories of when I would do this with Gaara or when I would was worked up and just needed to get away for awhile. I didn't even get up when I heard Gaara join me on the roof. I could feel him scrutinizing me and chose to ignore it instead of making him aware of the fact that I could feel his eyes on me. He stayed a few feet away from me and I decided that it wasn't really worth trying to get him to move closer to me or even talk to me, so I ignored the pain and stayed quiet and stared at nothing. Eventually I heard him shuffle farther away from me and I scooted a little closer to him.  
He seemed a little unsure of why I was moving closer whenever he tried to get farther away. We eventually came to the edge of the roof and I stopped advancing towards him. He seemed to relax at that and I still couldn't understand why he tried to move away and then I felt something brush against my leg. I glanced down and saw Nightpitch's youngest hatchling rubbing his head against me and I smiled as I picked him up and let him crawl over to my shoulder. He rubbed his head against my cheek affectionately and gave a purr of contentment.  
"Doesn't it hurt when he does that?" Gaara asked. I looked over at him and saw he had raised his eyes to my face curiosity clear in his eyes.  
"Not really, but I guess I might have gotten used to it by now since I've been around dragons all my life," I replied, rubbing the little dragons head affectionately. He purred and let out a small squeak when I turned to face Gaara. He chattered at me irritably when I stopped. "Shut up. It's not my fault you can't fly yet," I answered the little guy. Gaara seemed a little surprised to see that I could understand him.  
"How can you understand him?"  
"You won't like the answer." He looked at me in a way that said "I don't care, so tell me." I shrugged my shoulders and said," All right I'll tell you. That friend of ours that wanted you to have the necklace taught me how to speak dragon before the incident with my cousin's family happened."  
"That makes sense," he said looking hurt. His head shifted away from me and stared off into the distance.  
"You know she never meant to hurt you," I blurted out before I could stop myself. His head snapped around to glare at me.  
"What do you know about me?" he snarled making as if to walk off.  
"I know more about you then you think Gaara and you know very little about me," I replied. He stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder at me. I still hadn't moved from my seat on the ground and appeared uninterested in the conversation because I was rubbing the little dragon's head.  
"Like what?" he growled.  
"Like the fact that your father hates you and has tried to kill you multiple times since you were six and you hold the one tails within you," I said looking him in the eye. It went completely quiet and a soft breeze blew through the village. I never broke eye contact with him even when he tried to make me look away by glaring at me. The midnight blue dragon chirred softly in my ear and rubbed his head against my hand sensing my distress over the conversation. I soothed him and never took my eyes off Gaara. 'Whether he knows it or not he's in danger because he knows about me. He doesn't even realize that a lot of those ninja's were sent after him because he knows me and that is something that I regret more than the loss of my mates. I added to the pain he has felt and the power that Shukaku has over him.' I thought as sadness entered my eyes. Gaara eventually broke eye contact with me and I stood up and left the little dragon to walk to the edge of the roof.  
We stayed away from the other for the rest of the night and as the sun started to rise I gave a long whistle and headed towards a ledge like structure on the roof and limbed to the top. I heard the little dragon shuffle his wings and start to follow me when I heard a set of footsteps follow me as well. I ignored the footsteps and continued up to the top of the ledge where the baby dragon climbed up to my shoulder and coiled his tail around my neck. I soothed him and walked to the edge. As I reached it I heard the familiar sound of dragons shuffling their wings and getting ready for takeoff. The little one heard it as well because he left my shoulder and walked over to the person who had followed me to the ledge. I heard him coo at the person before climbing up to the person's shoulder. As he climbed up the person I reached out a hand and grabbed onto a neck spike as Nightpitch flew by, followed by Dragonheart and Bloodwings.  
I laughed as we rose above the clouds and prepared to dive back down towards the house. We formed up into a "V" formation and dived back through the clouds and towards the house. As we dove we took in a large breath of air and roared as we fell. Just before we would've hit the house the dragons pulled up and flew around the house on all sides roaring our heads off and waking up the whole house. When we started to run out of air I jumped off Nightpitch's back and landed on the roof next to Gaara. The dragons hovered for a while before setting down in the yard and waited for their riders to come and get them. I heard a few groans and growls as everyone started to get ready for the day and the dawn replacements went out to relieve the night guards from duty.  
"What was that for?" Gaara asked as he walked over to watch the clan start their day.  
"That's just how we wake up the clan and tell them that dawn is here and they need to get moving before the traffic gets to bad outside of the clan walls. It's also a way to keep the dragons from waking us up in the middle of the night because they seem to think it's funny to watch us stumble about in the dark and half asleep," I replied.  
"Hey sis, we need to get going before sensei can get there and so we can beat her there," Sasuke called sticking his head out his window.  
"I'm already ready. Now get dressed and let's go. The dragons are as impatient as we are to get moving," I called back walking away from Gaara and the dark blue dragon. The little one squeaked as I walked away and tried to get his wings to lift him off of Gaara's shoulder.  
"Oh no you don't," Gaara said placing a hand on the little guy. He settled down and I looked back to see him torn between following me and staying with his new friend.  
"It's okay. You can stay with him today if you want to," I said smiling at the little dragon. He cooed at me and settled onto Gaara's gourd making sure he was balanced enough to not fall off.  
"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked as he climbed up the side of the house dragging a half asleep Naruto behind him. I rolled my eyes and helped pull him up.  
"Don't worry about it bro. Besides the little guy can take care of himself even if he can't fly yet," I said. He still looked uncertain, but didn't argue anymore and we headed out to meet our sensei. We climbed onto the ledge and Nightpitch and Bloodwings picked us up and took us to the training grounds. When Kakashi arrived he told us he had signed us up for the Chuunin exams and said we were going to train with some of the other genin that had been chosen for the exam. We met up with Kurenai and Asuma's teams at the training grounds and I paired up with Hinata and we went a little ways away and we started to spare with our Byakugan. I let her hit me and kept my hits away from any vital organs and chakra points while I had her focus on my chakra points and vital organs. As we trained I felt like I was being watched by someone other than the senseis and other students. While I was distracted Hinata hit the area very close to my heart and I doubled over in pain surprised by the strike.  
"Are you all right?" Hinata asked as I doubled over and spit up blood. I didn't answer her and performed the correct hand signs before placing the black chakra covered hands over the area that I had been struck. A few seconds later and the pain had all, but faded into nothingness.  
"Yeah. I'm fine now. That was a great hit Hinata, you really have improved since the last time I sparred with you," I said after I had caught my breath. I saw her blush and winced at the pain in my chest when she looked away. "I'm going to call it a day," I called out to the senseis. Hinata looked up at me with worry and sadness in her eyes. "Don't worry about me Hinata. I'll be just fine I'm only calling it a day because I was up late last night sparring with them," I whispered pulling her into a happy embrace. Her eyes cleared and showed understanding with that one sentence. I smiled and went to walk away, but found my body lifted off the ground.  
**'Don't be stupid. Until this afternoon or until Tigerspirit has said so you're not going to be walking anywhere,'**Nightpitch said swinging me up onto her back. I sighed and tenderly lay down. **'And don't fall asleep either because if you do you risk slipping into the void,'**she snarled at me. I winced and sat back up and clung to her neck spike as we flew back towards the house. When we landed Blackpanther was there waiting for me along with my brother Faolan. They helped me down and carried me into the healing room where Tigerspirit started to heal my muscles and made sure that my heart was undamaged. Once it was determined that it would be healed in time for the exams the next day I was allowed to retire to my room where I fell asleep.  
When I next awoke the moon had risen and was already high in the night sky. I climbed out of the bed and onto the roof where I saw Gaara looking over the village and the blue dragon hatchling was sitting on his shoulder with his tail wrapped securely around his neck. I slipped off without them noticing me and met Nightpitch at the flight ledge. We took off very silently and she flew around the village for hours and I lied down on her back and thought about what tomorrow would mean for me and my team. When the sun started to rise we returned to the house and I was confronted by Gaara.  
"Where were you?" he asked as I jumped off Nightpitch.  
"I was just going for my last night flight with my dragon before the exams start after all this will be the last time we get to see each other where she won't have to act like a summoned beast," I replied petting Nightpitch on the nose. Gaara accepted this and we returned to the house where we parted ways again, I went downstairs and started to cook breakfast and he returned to his temporary room with the hatchling. 'Today the exams begin and my new team will participate in the exam. Great this should be fun, especially if any of my old friends are here.' I thought. I shook away the thought and concentrated on cooking. This was going to be a hard and long exam.  
**(And there it is her story. If there are any questions you still have ask them in the comments or on my comments page. Thanks.) ~Kiba-chan**


	7. Exams and a Traitor

**(Now to the exams.)~Kiba-chan **  
(("speech" **'thought speech'**'thoughts'))  
Shortly after I had made breakfast my teammates Naruto and Sasuke joined me in the kitchen. We ate and left after I had left out extra for anybody who wanted it. We ran to the academy and waited for Sakura to join us. When she got there most of the other teams had already entered the academy and were headed towards the exam room. We headed up the stairs and were stopped before we could enter the exam room. 'This can't be the exam room we've only gone up two flights of stairs.' I thought puzzled as to why so many people thought this was the exam room. My team and I slipped to the front of the group just in time to see TenTen get punched by two guys. I jumped behind her and caught her as she flew backwards.  
"Are you alright TenTen?" I whispered in her ear after I checked her face. She nodded her head and stood up pushing me away. I sighed and decoded not to go after her since she was checking on her green clad teammate.  
"You guys can drop the genjutsu now we all know that this isn't the exam room. Of course you must have noticed first Sakura after all you are the best at sensing chakra disturbances and jutsus in general," Sasuke said. Sakura looked a little taken aback by what he said and blushed a little.  
"You're right Sasuke. I did notice a while ago in fact because we've only climbed up two sets of stairs making this the second floor and not the third one where our exam will begin," Sakura agreed. She was blushing at the compliment that Sasuke had inadvertently given her.  
"So you saw through the genjutsu that doesn't mean you can take the test," the guy with bandages on his cheeks said as he tensed up ready to run at Sasuke. Before he could move I was standing in front of them with my regular katanas drawn and at their necks.  
"If you value your lives you will let us all pass without trying to attack us. Got it?" I asked pushing the blades closer to their flesh.  
"FINE! Let us go and we'll leave you all pass," the other guy said. I removed the blades from their necks and spun around to face my team. As I walked back to my team I heard something whistle through the air and spun around throwing out my left hand to grab the kick that was aimed at my midsection. Before I could make contact the boy clad in green appeared between me and the boy with bandages on his cheeks. He had one hand on the boy's leg blocking the kick and one hand on my wrist stopping my block. 'You've definitely been practicing Lee' I thought as Lee released my arm and turned to scold the other two who had already disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
"Thanks," I said and turned to leave with my team.  
"What are your names?" someone called out as we walked away. I stiffened and glanced over my shoulder just enough to see a girl with brown eyes and short blonde hair standing behind us. She had a lioness mask on top of her head and a headband that had a cat face with fire in the middle of it on the plate. I didn't dare look her in the eyes afraid she would recognize me. "I asked you a question."  
"It is considered good manners to give your name before asking others their own," Neji said as he walked up to stand between my team and her. She seemed a little ticked off that he had the audacity to tell her that, but gave her name nonetheless.  
"My name is Honey. Now what are your names?" she called out to us. I kept my body from moving for fear that it would give me away. I was able to keep my fear scent under control enough that she wouldn't know that it was me who was scared.  
"I don't think I want to tell you my name. Come on guys let's get out of here," Sasuke said as he started to walk away. I walked at a steady pace beside him and didn't relax until after we had turned the corner and lost sight of her. I shook myself trying to forget her for a moment and focus on my surroundings. When I did I saw Lee challenge Sasuke to a fight for the love of Sakura. When that didn't work he said he wanted to see if the Uchiha clan was as great as it was supposed to be.  
"Come on Sasuke you can take him," Sakura encouraged.  
"No. I want first crack at him," Naruto butted in. Before I could stop him he had run at Lee and was sent crashing into the wall without any trouble. When he hit the wall he fell unconscious and ended up on the floor. When Naruto stopped sliding down the wall my cousin ran at Lee and started to attack him without any hesitation in his movements. Lee easily overpowered him and sent him back towards us. I snarled when I saw Sasuke activate his Sharingan. Before either of them could move I had pinned Lee to the ground and nocked Sasuke onto his back in one movement. Sasuke seemed surprised that I had interrupted his fight.  
"Lee leave my cousin alone. I expect better from one of my apprentices," I said. Lee looked away from my face.  
"I know sensei. Please forgive my actions," Lee asked as I got off his chest.  
"I will overlook this direct insult to both my position and to my family on one condition."  
"What is it?"  
"I want you to do five hundred laps around the village when the exams are over as punishment. Understood," I said letting him off easy.  
"Only five hundred laps?" he asked.  
"For your punishment yes, and you should just add it onto whatever Guy makes you do after the exams for training," I answered.  
"Yes mam," Lee said giving me a salute.  
"And I never want to see you even think about using that technique on a comrade ever again, got it?" I said as he started to rewrap the bandages around his hands and arms. He paused for a second and dropped to one knee.  
"I understand, sensei," he said bowing his head.  
"Good. You know that I only have that precaution for my students' protection Lee," I whispered the last part after pulling him into a friendly hug.  
"I know, but I just want her so bad," he whispered.  
"She isn't ready for that, at least not yet. Let her get to know what it means to be with someone like us," I whispered as I pulled away. He nodded and turned around to go back to his team. I helped Sasuke up and Naruto walked over to us, he regained consciousness shortly after I pinned Lee. We walked away and when we came to the room we found Kakashi waiting for us.  
"Good you all showed up that means I can let you all pass by here and enter to take the exam," he said as we stopped in front of him.  
"But sensei you said that it was our choice to take the exam. Why would you tell us that if you knew that we all had to show up to be able to take the exam?" Sakura asked.  
"If he had would you have decided to take the exam because you thought you were ready or because you didn't want to let the team down?" I asked. It slowly dawned on her face that she understood what I had said and nodded her head in understanding.  
"What Kiba-chan said was right. If I had told you that your decision would have been influenced by the fact that your team was relying on you to come and take the test," Kakashi said. We nodded in understanding and Kakashi stepped aside to let us pass with a few words of encouragement. We walked with me at the head and Naruto and Sasuke at my sides and Sakura bringing up the rear. We pushed the doors open and walked into the brightly light room. When our eyes finally adjusted to the light we saw hundreds of heads turned to look at us.  
"Wha...What is this?! I mean I knew a lot of people take the exam at once, but I didn't think there would be this many people here," Naruto said. While the other three looked shocked to see the number of the genin, I took the opportunity to scan the crowd for any of my enemies and allies. I saw the Sand Siblings had already arrived and smelt my cousin, Kiba-kun nearby in the crowd.  
"Sasuke~3!" a blonde yelled as she latched herself onto his neck. He stumbled forward ever so slightly and glanced at me pleading with me to help him.  
"INO YOU PIG! Get off of Sasuke," Sakura yelled at the blonde. I sighed as they started to fight over my cousin.  
"Hey can you two not fight for more than three seconds after seeing each other? Or better yet go die in a corner," Shikamaru said walking up to us. I nodded my head at him and Choji as Naruto started to yell at them.  
"Well what do you know? It seems that my cousin was telling the truth about us all taking the exams. That means that the whole training gang is here," Kiba-kun called out as he walked over followed by a blushing Hinata and dead silent Shino. I smiled and gave Akamaru a quick pet before smacking my cousin across the back of his head.  
"Idiot. Keep your voice down we don't need any more attention than we already have," I said as the others noticed the ninja's glaring at us. I sighed and let things continue sine no one seemed to care. A few seconds later and we had a real uproar in our group.  
"Hey you guys. Do us all a favor and shut up," a genin with white hair and glasses asked as he walked over to our group. I recognized him and blended in with the back of our group as he got closer.  
"And who are you?" Naruto asked.  
"You're all genin fresh out of the academy right? Well here's a news flash this isn't some class field trip and you all need to open your eyes to what's going on around you. Name's Kabuto by the way," he said bringing their attention to the fact that we were being watched. They glanced behind them and saw a group from Amagakure staring at them. I glared at them and they looked away unable to look in my eyes because of the glare that was directed at them. I snorted at their weakness and inability to take a glare from someone stronger than them. "It's alright. I still remember when I was fresh out of the academy and thought I was invincible to anything. But then I came here and I learned what this test is all about. This is the seventh time I've taken this test and I still don't know what to expect from this exam, but at least I'm prepared with knowledge thanks to these," he continued pulling out a set of Shinobi skill cards.  
"Who all do you have?" Shikamaru asked sounding mildly interested.  
"I have a card for everyone here and more detailed ones on those from Konoha. Give me a name and I'll tell you what I know about them," he said.  
"Gaara Subaku from Suna and Honey from Densetsu," Sasuke said.  
"Aw. It's no fun if you know their names," Kabuto said pulling out two cards before pushing his chakra into one of them. It started to spin around and a picture of Gaara appeared. It showed what missions he had gone on, what rank they were, and interesting facts about him. In the chakra/jutsu spot there was a question mark indicating that he didn't know anything about his jutsus.  
"It seems these cards aren't as good as you said they were," Sasuke said.  
"Well that's to be expected from someone who's not from our village and hasn't taken the exam before, but I do know that he has gone on eight C-rank missions and one B-rank. Wow! Not many genin get a B-rank so early in their careers. And get this he's come back from every mission completely unscathed without even a scratch. Next we have Honey of Densetsu. I have more on her because this isn't the first time we've taken the test together. She is from the Village that sits on the border between the demon and light countries, has great chakra control, can fight as a lioness, and she has gone on thirty C-rank missions along with her team. She is also average in Taijutsu and Genjutsu and specializes in Ninjutsus and Ninja weapons. Supposedly her Chijutsu is her ability to change into a lioness, but I heard she has another form she doesn't use," Kabuto said. I scoffed at the small amount of information he had gathered on my former friend I personally knew that she was perfectly balanced when it came down to jutsus, but if it came down to weapons she could easily be defeated because she always gave away when and where she was going to strike next.  
"You should all be aware that everyone here is just like those two because if you're not then this test will eat you alive, and I mean that literally," I said speaking up after Kabuto stopped talking. Everyone turned to look at me and I kept my gaze on the window across from me. "There are few people here that aren't as tough as Lee, Gaara, or Honey and the few that are won't even make it passed the first part of the exam, so if I were you I would be really happy that I held those training sessions when we were still in the academy," I finished looking at the people who had actually showed up for those sessions. They all smirked or smiled at me showing their confidence in both my training and their own abilities.  
"Although I doubt you need to worry about the ninja from the Sound Village. After all, the Village was established less than a year ago and because they are part of a new small nation there is very little information about it. Otherwise everyone here is just as powerful as your friend there said," Kabuto said. I heard someone move through the crowd as quietly as they could without using a jutsu, so I knew that they were from the sound. I quickly started to do hand signs. The order was tiger, dragon, snake, rat, and tiger.  
"Sound barrier," I whispered. I sent the barrier over my cousins, their teams, and anyone who I knew had sensitive hearing like me. I wasn't able to protect myself against the attack because it was a self-sacrificing jutsu that I had developed to protect my clan from people who could use sound as a weapon. As soon as I finished the barrier a boy jumped over the crowd and threw two kunai at Kabuto who dodged them. After he dodged the weapons another boy appeared and threw a punch at Kabuto who dodged that as well. He appeared to be unharmed, but a second after he had dodged the attack his glasses shattered. Then we both heard it and dropped to our knees where we emptied our stomachs onto the floor. I thought that I felt sweat drip down my face, but when I pulled my hand back I saw it covered in blood.  
"Sis! Are you all right?" Sasuke asked as he knelt down next to me. I couldn't hear him, but I could read his lips and knew what he was asking. Before I could answer he was pulled off of me by a girl with red hair and a girl with a cream colored lioness mask took my cousin's place and performed the hand signs for a healing jutsu of my own invention before placing her hands over my ears and starting to heal them. I felt the tears in my eardrum and inner ear start to heal and I removed her hands when I knew my ears where healed as much as she could safely heal them without hurting herself. I got up and placed my hand on the other girl's shoulder before leaning in to whisper in her ear," Tell your father and mother that I said hi, would you please?"  
"Of course we will I'm sure our parents will be more than happy to hear from their friend," the girl who healed my said as she walked over. I was able to get a good look at both of their masked faces. The one with red hair had a tiger mask that was as red as her hair, but had darker red stripes on it and a bird in flight on the forehead. The one that had healed me had a pale lioness mask on and had a pool of some kind on her forehead. I had just opened my mouth to respond when there was a large poof of smoke at the front of the class and a large group of Jounin appeared along with the proctor.  
"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" the proctor yelled at us. I smirked when I recognized the voice as Ibiki. "You kids from the Sound Village had better settle down before I disqualify you all for attacking someone before the exams even begin."  
"We're sorry sir. This is our first time taking the test and we're just a little anxious, sir," the one with a weird arm guard said.  
"Is that so? Then I guess it's time I lay down some ground rules. Rule one if you attack another examinee without my permission or with deadly force I will disqualify you without a second thought," Ibiki continued.  
"Sir, what if we try to kill them after your part of the exam and may I have your permission to kick someone?" I called out. Ibiki looked a little startled to hear my question, but smirked evilly when he saw my raised hand.  
"Excellent questions Miss Fenrisulfur. I don't care what you do once this part of the exam, so long as I or one of the other Jounin catch you doing it. Yes you may kick someone," Ibiki answered. I smirked at his answer and appeared behind the Sound genin that had attacked Kabuto and me with sound waves. I kicked him into his male teammate before he could even try to stop me. I dropped my hand to rest on my hip as I snarled at the genin.  
"The next time you attack somebody make sure you know who you attack because otherwise it can come back to kill you," I snarled. At the same time I narrowed my pupils to slits at the last word. I returned to my friends where I was joined by my niece and nephew. Everyone that knew me wined at the hidden meaning behind my words.  
"All right now I want you all to form a single line and come up here to receive a number and you will find the corresponding seat and once you are all seated we will begin the written part of the exam," Ibiki ordered. I heard a lot of people groan and I shrugged since I knew that the written part was the easiest part of the exam. When I took my seat I was seated between a Leaf Genin I had never seen before, but who looked to be a few years older than me, and the pale lioness that had healed my ears. I tuned out what Ibiki was saying about the rules of the test and just stared out the window. When he said we could begin I sighed and continued to stare out the window. I knew that the whole point of this part of the test was to see if we could gather information and not get caught.  
Half way into the test I heard something open one of the windows in the room and something climbed up my leg. I smiled at the little midnight blue dragon that had followed me to the exam. I gently patted his head and let him climb onto my shoulder after I disguised him to look like a cat. He cooed at the air when the boy next to me said he had something in his eyes. I smiled when I saw Gaara's third eye appear and start to transmit the answers back to him. A few minutes later and there were still over a hundred of us left and there was only fifteen minutes left for the test.  
"All right everybody listen up. I will now give you the last question," Ibiki called. At about the same time Kankuro came back from the bathroom led by Crow. "I hope your trip to the bathroom was enlightening. You got back just in time for the last question. Take a seat." I saw Kankuro gulp when he mentioned his bathroom trip. As he walked by Temari he slipped her a piece of paper. "Now with this last question there is also another rule and let me be perfectly clear...this rule is absolute." I almost burst from containing my laughter, but only succeeded in placing a cocky grin on my face. I always loved how the Konoha Black Ops leader used his knowledge of interrogation and torture when I was a test or in everyday life. I looked around and noticed that many of the other Genin were starting to freak out. "First you must choose whether you want to accept the question"  
"WHAT!? Why wouldn't we accept the question?" Temari yelled outraged by the new rule.  
"Because if you refuse the question you automatically fail the first exam and that will disqualify your team from this exam. Also if you choose to accept the question and get it wrong then you may NEVER retake the exam to become a Chuunin. You will be stuck as a Genin for the rest of your life." I smirked at the lie he told.  
"YOU'RE LIEYING! THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE WHO HAVE TAKEN THE EXAM MORE THAN ONCE! HOW CAN THAT BE IF THEY WOULD HAVE BECOME INELIGABLE THE MOMENT THEY MISSED THE LAST QUESTION!?" Kiba-kun yelled. Ibiki smiled and started to laugh like a mad man.  
"Because you lot just got unlucky enough to have me give your exam this year," Ibiki answered. He still had the creepy smile on his face. "Now which of you will not accept the question?" A few seconds passed and shuffling could be heard as people started to give up in favor of having a chance to take the exams again instead of risking everything to become stronger. I scoffed at how easy it was for Ibiki to use his interrogation and torture training on the first timers, yet when it came to my group of rookies all but Naruto looked confident about passing the exam. I kept my eyes trained on him like he was a buck that had been separated from the herd waiting for him to do something. A few more people raised their hands and left before Naruto shakily raised his hand into the air before slamming it down on the desk in front of him and stood up to glare at Ibiki.  
"DON'T YOU EVER UNDERESTIMATE ME! I DON'T QUIT AND I NEVER GO BACK ON MY WORD! SO WHAT IF I FAIL YOUR BUMB TEST? I'LL STILL MAKE MY DREAMSCOME TRUE EVEN IF I'M A GENIN WHEN THAT HAPPENS!" he yelled before sitting back down in his chair with a determined look on his face. A few seconds passed and no one else raised their hand to reject the last question.  
"Is there anyone else who wishes to leave now? This is your last chance," Ibiki said as he looked around the room. This time there was complete silence instead of the nervous shuffling from before. After a few more moments Ibiki repeated his question and when no one left his face broke out into a smile. "Well, then since it appears that no one else is going to quit I can say that you have all passed the first exam." I smirked at all the confused looks and started to laugh at how dumb some of these people had been in assuming that there was actually a tenth question and that the written test mattered to whether or not we passed the first exam. "It seems that Miss Fenrisulfur finds it funny that you have all passed the first exam. Would you mind telling us what exactly you find amusing in the situation?" Ibiki asked as he locked his gaze with mine.  
"Of course sir. I just find very funny that I'm the only person who bothered to learn who our proctors for the exams are. I even took the time to study what they do for their respective villages or in this case the Leaf Village. Also how no one recognized the famous head of Interrogation and Torture squad let alone recognize one of the simplest torture tactics out there. I just find the stupidity of the other participates very amusing, that's all," I replied with a straight face. We looked at each other for a few more seconds before we both laughed at the situation. As we were laughing a black tarp burst through the window and kunai shot out from within it burying themselves in the ceiling and floor. Out of the tarp burst a woman with purple hair, a full body fish net suit, a light brown skirt, and a light brown cloak. I smirked as I instantly recognized her.  
"ALL RIGHT YOU MAGGOTS LISTEN UP! NONE OF YOU ARE IN ANY POSITION TO CELEBRATE! MY NAME IS ANKO MITARASHI AND TIME'S A-WASTIN, SO EVERYBODY FOLLOW ME!" the brown eyed woman yelled at us. I covered my mouth with my hand as I started to quietly laugh at her antics.  
"Can't you sense the mood in here?" Ibiki asked her. Anko looked around the room before she spun around to face Ibiki and pointed a finger at him.  
"You let eighty-six people pass?! Obviously you went too easy on them, but it doesn't matter I'll reduce their numbers by more than half in the next part of the exam. ALRIGHT WHO'S LAUGHING? WELL COME ON. OWN UP OR ARE YOU SCARED?" she asked as I started to laugh really hard. Instead of answering her I teleported to stand behind her and had a smirk on my face as the other students looked shocked that I was bold enough to stand anywhere near the woman. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she spun around ready to attack me, but stopped when she saw who it was behind her. "Well if it isn't Kiba. Long time since we last saw each other, huh?"  
"You bet it has although I bet I could still kick your butt in a fight even though the last fight I was in was nothing more than a dragon problem," I answered returning her smile.  
"Of course it was. I really don't understand why you train against them when they have such a huge advantage and I mean that literally. I mean come on the dragons you fight are usually larger than the Hokage's building and you still come out on top every time. So I guess you were telling the truth about being on Kakashi's team since you're here and all," she answered. I just smiled and nodded my head to her question. "ALL RIGHT YOU MAGGOTS! FOLLOW ME AND KIBA TO THE NEXT AREA SO THE SECOND PART OF THE EXAMS CAN BEGIN!" She pulled me towards the door as the others stood up and started to follow us out the door. We walked a good distance ahead of the others and when we were far enough away that she thought it was safe to talk without being overheard she whispered," Are you sure this is a good idea? Taking the test I mean. After all there are a lot of people here from Densetsu and they might recognize you if you're not careful."  
"It doesn't matter anymore because I'm tired of all the lies. If my real identity is found out then so be it. Besides I plan on telling them all who really am before this exam is over and when that happens maybe the person I've been searching for will finally show his damn face," I whispered back. She shot me a look of sympathy since she knew exactly who I was talking about, she even knew what he looked like because she had once caught me savagely ripping apart a training dummy with his picture where the face would have been. She gave my shoulder a slight squeeze and didn't try to push the subject. We arrived at the next area a few minutes later and I stood beside her as the other students arrived. The little dragon squeaked at me as he caught sight of Gaara and Sasuke and I told him he could go to either one, but to be careful and not to interfere in whatever was going to happen. He churred at me before jumping off my shoulder and running over to Sasuke who lifted the little guy onto his shoulder where the hatchling wound his tail around his arm to steady himself.  
"Welcome to the area of the second exam. We call this place the 44th training ground better known as...," Anko started.  
"The Forest of Death," I finished as I heard a rustling in the trees behind us. Out jumped a large group of wolves followed by a group of tigers. They all gathered near the chain link fence and started to talk amongst themselves. I would occasionally catch a few words like, "Master brought friends this time," or "Master finally brought her teammates to meet us," of even, "I can't wait to fight with her again," as the two groups talked to each other. I ignored them for the most part and focused on the other students, many of whom looked nervous because of the presence of the wild animals.  
"See even the animals know that there is about to be a blood bath and can't wait to get their paws on some fresh meat. Every single one of you is going to find out first hand why we all this the Forest of Death," Anko yelled out. I saw a few of the student's with weaker stomachs bend over and empty them onto the ground in front of them at the hidden implication of what was going to happen in the forest. I smirked at their weakness, but it faded quickly as Naruto started to mock Anko about what was going to happen in the forest. "You're pretty cocky. Aren't you?" she asked smiling sweetly. Before Naruto could move Anko had thrown a kunai at him and it had sliced open his cheek. In the next second she was standing behind him with one hand on his uninjured cheek and her chin almost resting on his shoulder. "People like you are always the first to go and spill all that rich, red, lovely, luscious blood," she continued as she licked some of the blood off his cheek. I saw Sasuke tense up like he was going to attack her, but the hatchling tightened his hold on his arm and caused him to stop moving for fear of the little one's scales digging into his flesh. In the next second I heard someone moving from within the crowd and I teleported to stand behind Anko a second before a female grass ninja appeared in front of me. I had pulled out my black blade moments before she appeared and had the point directly under her chin. I felt her tongue behind my back and could sense the kunai blade that she held in her tongue.  
"If you value your life you will remove your tongue from behind me and leave right now," I growled out.  
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to return the proctor's kunai. I believe she dropped it," the girl said. I heard howls and roars of outrage coming from on the other side of the fence as the two groups showed their anger at the woman's actions. I ignored them and focused all my attention on the girl in front of me.  
"If I were you I would do as she says the last person who didn't listen to her ended up as a blood stain on the floor when she was finished with them. If her cousin hadn't been there to confirm the story about someone trying to kill them we would have thought that she had killed some innocent person on the streets," Anko said with a sigh as she glanced over her shoulder at the Grass Ninja. I growled deep in my throat to emphasize what she had said. Before the girl could respond she was tackled to the ground by a dark brown streak where she was pinned to the ground. A second later and I recognized a large tiger on top of the girl who had lightly placed his jaws around her neck.  
"Don't kill her," I said with a sigh as I put my sword away. The tiger looked at me and a soft growl rumbled in his throat as his jaws stopped trying to kill the girl. "Yes I know that she was radiating bloodlust towards me, but it was weak compared to the rage I have reserved for a select few people," I answered. He growled at me again and removed his jaws from the girl's neck, but continued to stand on her. "Leave her be if she really wants to try to attack me I seriously doubt that she will try anything while you are here with me. If she has any sense at all she will make sure to avoid us in the future because I'm not nearly as forgiving the second time around," I answered the tiger's finally question. He looked down at the girl one last time before he jumped off of her and wound himself around me as the girl shakily got back to her feet and returned to her team. I mentally marked the group as enemies the moment the girl returned to them. "Anko let him go. I really don't feel like prying you off of my teammate at the moment."  
"Kami you're never any fun after people do that. I really wish that you didn't have to always be so serious, but I guess that's the price you pay for being so strong," she said as she released Naruto and walked back to the front of the group. I noticed how all eyes remained on me as Anko started to talk again. I reached up a hand and placed it on my collar as I felt a pain in my neck that I had only felt when I was extremely irritated or angered. I gently rubbed the area and felt the pain fade away just as Anko finished speaking. I walked over to my team and told Sasuke that I was going to talk to the tiger in a more private place before taking a consent form and walking towards a nearby clearing surrounded by trees and underbrush.  
"Alright this should be far enough away from the others that we can talk in peace. Now tell me why you jumped the fence and tell your friend to come out of hiding while you're at it," I said as I sat down on a rock. The tiger seemed a little surprised before he dipped his head towards me and growling over his left shoulder. A few seconds later and we were joined by a white wolf that had light gray patches under her paws and on her lower muzzle. She quickly took up a defensive position in front of the tiger in a way that showed she was afraid for him.  
"Please spare him. He was only trying to help," the wolf whimpered. I gazed at her with a softness I usually reserved for my cousins or boyfriend.  
"Don't worry I would never harm someone who was doing what their heart told them to do. Besides if I hurt him I would be wasting a great chance to have two new additions to my team and I wouldn't want to do that. Only if you both want to join me of course," I answered her. She seemed a little taken aback by what I had said and the tiger looked very excited at the idea of being allowed to join my clan.  
"You mean we can join your clan?" he asked in disbelief.  
"Of course you can. Both of you can if you want to, but I won't make you do anything you don't want to, but before I can let you join I need you to answer my question and tell me your names," I answered smiling at the two. They looked at each other before the tiger said," I jumped over the fence because I thought you needed help and I couldn't stand to see you in danger even though I know that you can take care of yourself. And neither of us have names, at least to our knowledge we don't have names. My friend here has been with me since my mother died and both of her parents are dead as well." I nodded my head in understanding and began to think up names for the both of them.  
"What he says is true. I don't really remember my parents, but I know that I don't have a name and I would be honored to join your great pack," she growled softly at me.  
"Alright then how about I give you both names and then you can decide for yourself if you like them or not. How about Kyo for you big guy and Snow for you?" I asked. The tiger nodded his head saying that he liked the name and the wolf gave a slight nod as well. "Now I can welcome the both of you into the clan as full members now that you both have names. Kyo and Snow you shall both make great warriors in time, but for now I want you both to return to the forest and trail my team so you can see what you will be doing once this part of the exams is over. Alright?" They both nodded at me and walked towards the fence as I returned to my teammates and the other participates.  
"You ready Kiba?" Sakura asked as I joined her and the others. I nodded my head and we headed towards the shed were they were giving the teams their scrolls and right before I could follow them in I felt a hand placed on my shoulder and Anko was standing next to me. She leaned in close to my face and stayed very still with her back to my teammates who were watching the scene.  
"Be careful out there. I know you say I shouldn't worry about you, but I can't help it. You don't deserve to live in fear and secret and I sincerely hope that you make it out of there in one piece. Be careful you little maggot," she whispered in my ear.  
"Don't worry about me. It's not like I'm going to be alone during this test. I have more allies here than you realize, besides if I get in trouble I always have my secret weapon and my special training spot here. My team and I will get through this test without much difficulty and I'll see you at the tower soon enough, old friend," I answered as I brushed her hand off my shoulder. I joined my team and we gave our consent forms to the Ninja in the shed and Sasuke took the scroll for safe keeping. A few minutes later and we were standing outside of the Twelfth gate. I pulled my cloak out of my bag and put it on pulling the hood over my head hiding my eyes from my teammates. Once the hood was in place I activated my Byakugan and found my allies at their respective gates as well as the two teams I had marked as enemies. Hinata's team was at Gate 16, Shikamaru's team was at Gate 27, Kabuto's team was at Gate 38, the Grass Ninja's team was at Gate 15, Team Guy was at Gate 41, and Gaara's team was at Gate 6. I was about to find the Sound team when the proctor let us through the gate and the exam began. 'Damn it' I thought as I quickly deactivated my Byakugan and followed my teammates through the gate and into the forest.  
"All right guys let's stop here and come up with a plan," Sasuke said shortly after we had entered the forest. We stopped and shortly after I heard a scream pierce the air as the first team was taken out of the exam.  
"It seems that the first team has already fallen to the hands of our comrades," I stated as Naruto walked around a tree to go to the bathroom.  
"How can you tell?" Sakura asked.  
"Which of our allies has succeeded already?" Sasuke asked at the same time.  
"Hinata's team has taken out one of the unimportant groups and I know that because I could hear them scream as the chakra eating leeches attacked them and killed them when they were under Shino's control," I answered. Sakura shivered at the thought of leeches and Sasuke just nodded his head in acceptance.  
**'Kiba don't head to the tower yet. I have a bad feeling about that Grass Ninja from before she was hiding something and I think she is going to come after my team, so try and stay in the forest if you can. Alright?'** I asked my cousin through our mind link.  
**'We weren't going to head towards the tower yet anyways because Shino needs to rest after using his power on those leeches. I'll keep in touch with you and our other allies'**he answered. Shortly after he answered I sensed an unfamiliar Chakra heading our way and it was aimed at Naruto. I snarled and launched myself into the treetops and caught the person unawares as he tried to attack Naruto. I pulled out my white blade and stabbed him deep in the shoulder almost going through his collar bone with the amount of force I had put in the strike.  
"GAAAAHHHH," he yelled out as he crashed to the forest floor in front of Sasuke. Sasuke quickly pulled out a kunai and buried it in the same wound that I had already created as he reacted without thinking about it. As I fell back to the ground I saw Naruto tied up on the ground and I threw a kunai at the ropes slicing them in half and releasing him at the same time.  
"Where are your teammates?" I asked as I took Sasuke's place holding the kunai knife in his shoulder.  
"Like I would tell you that," he responded. I didn't bother answering him with words and instead I twisted the kunai knife in his shoulder and made him scream in agony and pain before I released him. He jumped away from me and took off into the woods as soon as he was out of my grasp. I snorted at his retreating figure and wiped the kunai clean on my cloak before I returned it to my cousin.  
"Why did you let him go we could have gotten a scroll from him if we had kept him as a prisoner," Sasuke said as he returned his kunai to his weapons pouch.  
"I let him go because he has the same scroll we do and because his teammates don't really care about passing they just want to collect as many scrolls as they can. Besides if we had kept an injured person as a prisoner we would have been tracked by the blood from his wound this way he puts his team in danger and we don't have to worry about someone tracking us or feeding another person," I answered. Sasuke appeared satisfied with my answer and when Naruto rejoined our group he relaxed just a little before he made us memorize a poem about when a Ninja should strike. I listened and knew that the real purpose of the poem was so that the next time someone impersonated Naruto we would know they were a fake because they would give us the correct answer instead of the Naruto answer.  
"Alright let's get moving. We've wasted enough time here as it is," Sasuke said as he stood up. As soon as he stood up I felt something sting my cheek and I recognized the attack instantly and cursed myself for dropping my guard at a time like this. I grabbed my cloak and pulled it off and revealed a powerful and muscular tail along with a set of wings and my body beginning to be covered in black scales.  
"GET DOWN!" I shouted as I swung my tail and knocked Sasuke and Sakura out of the way of the attack. I launched myself towards Naruto, but just as I was about to grab him there was a loud boom and he was blown away. I spun in midair and turned to face the attack and expanded my lungs to their full extent and released a mighty roar that canceled out the attack moments before it could hit me. As the dust settled I was tackled from behind and I found Sasuke on top of me.  
"Why didn't you grab him!?" he yelled at me.  
"I tried. You think I would let him get attacked when I know what he means to you?" I answered turning my head to look away from him. He didn't get off of me and pulled out a kunai as Sakura appeared from the bushes.  
"Sasuke, Kiba. Thank goodness you guys weren't blown away by that attack as well," she said as she took a step towards us. I took the opportunity to flip my position so that instead of Sasuke being on top he was on bottom and I placed one clawed hand on his chest pinning him to the ground. "Kiba, what are you doing?" Sakura asked as she came to stand behind me. She had enough sense to stay far enough away so that my swishing tail wouldn't knock her off her feet. I ignored her question and used my other hand to make my cousin look me in the eyes as I saw the emotions swirling in his eyes. I saw worry, anger, and love all at once as well as confusion at my actions. I sighed and slowly stood up offering my hand to help him up. He took it and I pulled him to his feet before I pulled him into a quick hug to apologize for my actions.  
"Thanks," he mumbled as I released him. I gave him a toothy grin and returned to a human form.  
"Sure thing. Don't worry about Sakura she's the real one and not an imposter," I said loud enough for them both to hear. Sakura looked a little surprised when Sasuke didn't question my statement and just nodded his head in acceptance. As soon as I had said that I heard a rustling in the bushes and out stepped Naruto looking relatively unharmed except for the cut on his cheek.  
"What's the password," I snarled at him sending the hatchling to Sasuke's arm an order to make sure that Sasuke got away if this was who I thought it was.  
"Right. 'Ninki.' "We thrive in the chaos of the enemy tide. Quiet Shinobi don't need dens to hide. Our only concern is to watch and wait until the enemy lowers the gate"," he answered perfectly. I smirked at him and Sasuke and I both threw a kunai at the imposter the moment he got it right. He quickly dodged out of the way seconds before Sasuke's kunai could hit him and I pulled on the string I attached to my kunai and it dug into his shoulder.  
"Nice try, but the real Naruto would never have said the correct answer to that question. Which was the whole point of choosing such a question to begin with," Sasuke sneered at the imposter. The imposter looked up and smirked at us before there was a large puff of smoke and the grass ninja from before was standing in front of us.  
"Well done. I guess I should have done my research," she said.  
"I knew you were underground listening to our conversation, so I deliberately chose the kind of password that Naruto wouldn't bother to memorize because he wouldn't want to," Sasuke sneered at the girl.  
"I see...watch and wait for the enemy to appear and then use the information they gathered against them. This is going to be much more fun than I originally thought," she sneered. I took the chance to check on Naruto through our mind link and I found him thinking about how disgusting this snake's insides were as he was swallowed by a very large snake. I narrowed my eyes as I searched through my mind to try and find anyone who used snakes when they were fighting, but stopped when I saw the girl pull out an earth scroll. "I bet you want this scroll don't you? Especially because you already have a heaven scroll," she hissed before swallowing the scroll whole. "Now what do you three say to finding out who here is the better ninja?" I saw Sasuke and Sakura paralyzed with surprise at the sight of her eating the scroll. "We'll fight to the death!" she said as she made eye contact with us. I saw my death and Sasuke's flash before my eyes the moment she made eye contact with us. Sasuke doubled over and threw up at his feet as Sakura just slumped to the ground. I was the only one who stayed on their feet and who was unfazed by the attack.  
** 'Sasuke you have to snap out of it! It's just an illusion of death,'** I tried to tell him through his panicked mind.  
**'Wh-who the heck is he?'** was the only response I got out of him and then I realized who my enemy really was. A second later and the enemy had pulled out three kunai assuming that we were all paralyzed.  
"Now!" I yelled as he released the weapons. The hatchling took the point of his tail and stabbed my cousin in the leg snapping him out of the illusion as I launched myself towards him and Sakura. I grabbed them by the collars on their shirts before my wings sprouted out of my back and I flew into the sky at a speed that only a trained eye could follow. I landed in a tree a few meters away from the enemy and quickly healed the wound the young dragon had created in Sasuke's leg.  
"Thanks," he shakily whispered to me. I nodded my head and looked over at Sakura and saw that she was still in the illusion.  
"It's just you and me. Sakura won't be able to break out of that jutsu anytime soon," I said as I grabbed the hatchling off Sasuke's shoulder. I jumped out of the tree and landed on the forest floor and gave the hatchling to Kyo and Snow before I teleported back into the tree beside my cousin. When I reappeared I saw my cousin with his hand over Sakura's mouth and he hadn't noticed the snake right between them. I roared and tackled the snake away from the two of them before I jumped to stand beside my cousin.  
"Thanks," he panted. I kept my focus on the snake and when it launched itself at us again Sasuke overreacted and threw ten shuriken at the snake and every single one of them connected with the snake. I noticed how the snake was focused on my cousin and was ignoring me for the most part and realized that my cousin was the target of these attacks. I snarled as the snake burst apart and the grass ninja stepped out of the snake's body.  
"Shame on you for letting your guard down! You should stay on your toes like a good piece of prey should! It makes the catch that much more rewarding for me," she hissed before slithering like a snake towards my cousin. Sasuke didn't even try to get away and thankfully seconds before the enemy could attack him the enemy was stopped in his tracks by a few shuriken and kunai landing inches away from him.  
"Sorry, Sasuke, Kiba. I can't remember that stupid password," Naruto yelled from a few feet away. Sasuke looked terrified that Naruto had shown up at that exact moment.  
"Naruto to the rescue, huh? I bet you're pretty happy to see me struggling with an opponent and needing you to save me, but...I really wish you would grab Sakura and run for your lives! This guy is way out of our league!" Sasuke yelled at Naruto looking terrified for Naruto's life.  
"Well done defeating his giant snake, Naruto!" I yelled out encouragingly. Sasuke spun around to glare at me, but I ignored him because at that point he wasn't my cousin, but a terrified child who was way out of his league instead of the cousin I had trained for this kind of situation.  
"So you were the one who sent that snake after me! Well why don't you go and pick on someone your own size!" Naruto yelled at the enemy. I saw Sasuke looking uncertain for a second and noticed that he had activated his Sharingan, but stopped it a few seconds after I noticed it. He pulled out our scroll and turned towards the enemy and I snarled when I realized what he was going to do.  
"If you want our scroll then take it just take it and leave us be," Sasuke yelled at our enemy. I was stunned for a second before it registered what he had said and when it did I realized just how much this person had been able to get under his skin.  
"It seems that you are natural born prey that knows it's only chance to escape is to lure the predator's attention away with something that is more appetizing to it," the enemy said as he gazed at my cousin with a hunger that I had only seen twice before. I saw Sasuke throw the only scroll we had towards him, but before it could get to him there was a flash and Naruto caught the scroll and landed beside my cousin.  
"You idiot you'll ruin our only chance to escape by interfering," Sasuke yelled at Naruto. Naruto didn't respond with words and instead punched my cousin hard enough to send him off of the branch they were both standing on and crashing into another branch. The second my cousin got back to his feet I was crouched down onto all fours and was by Naruto's side waiting for the next move to be made. "What do you think you're doing you idiot? Are you trying to ruin our only chance of escape?" Sasuke yelled at Naruto.  
"I may not know what the stupid password is or who our enemy really is, but I do know one thing and that's that you're NOT the real Sasuke," Naruto answered him. Sasuke looked a little taken aback for a second before he opened his mouth to respond, but I cut him off by saying," Don't try and deny it. The Sasuke I trained wouldn't freeze up when the people he cares for are in danger of being hurt. He would keep fighting until he found a weakness in his opponent's defense before he used it to his advantage, but you just tried to give our scroll to the enemy. Besides even if we gave him the scroll he would still have killed us."  
"That's ridiculous I'm the real me and you idiots I'm the real me," Sasuke responded after my little rant.  
"That's bull and you're the idiot, you idiot. Everything Kiba-chan has said is true and so is the fact that you're a coward instead of the person who would continue to fight no matter what the odds against him. I'm not really all that sure that we need to be afraid of this guy, I mean he hasn't been able to hurt Kiba yet and besides that she's right he wouldn't spare us just because we gave him our scroll if anything that would mean that he no longer has any reason to keep us alive. So even if you're the real Sasuke I would be telling you this only I would probably be calling you a chicken and an idiot because of how stupid you're being," Naruto finished with a fire burning in his eyes I had only seen a few other times.  
"Oh, Naruto and Kiba! This is just rich especially because you're both right. Even if you gave me the scroll I would still try to kill you, and besides why would I bargain when I can simply kill you and take what I want?," he asked as he pulled up his sleeve and revealed a summoning mark tattooed onto his skin. He bit his finger at the last sentence before he swiped the mark completing the summoning requirement in one single move. Naruto and I whipped around and charged at him with rage the only emotion visible on our faces.  
"SHUT UP!" we yelled as we closed the distance between us and our enemy.  
"Don't do it Naruto, Kiba!" Sasuke yelled as we were almost on top of the enemy.  
** 'My faith in Sasuke is totally shot and that means I can only rely on myself and Kiba during this fight!'** Naruto thought using the mind link between us without noticing it.  
"Summoning Jutsu!" the enemy called out as we were almost on top of him. When the smoke cleared our enemy was standing on top of a giant snake head instead of the tree branch from before. I saw the snake's tail fly through the air and when it connected with me and Naruto I grabbed my friend and spun us so that I would be cushioning his body when we landed instead of him cushioning my body. We flew through a solid oak tree branch before we were stopped by the second one a few feet above our enemy and allies. We both groaned in pain as the impact sent shock waves of pain throughout our bodies. I coughed up blood and started to fall towards my enemy along with Naruto who hadn't coughed up nearly as much blood as I had since my plan had worked and he had avoided serious internal damage from the blow. I felt eyes on us as we fell and heard the enemy order his summon to eat us both to make sure that we were out of his way this time.  
**'Please lend me your strength my friends. Show me how strong we can be if we work together as one'**I thought as I free fell through the air alongside Naruto. Time seemed to slow down as three forms appeared in front of me. There was a white tiger, a dragon, and a thirteen tailed wolf and they all looked at me with a fury that showed just how mad they were to see me and my teammates hurt in such a way by this man.  
**'We hear you Master! We will lend you all the strength and power we have so you can protect the people you love and to kill your enemy!'** the three said in complete unison. As soon as they finished speaking all three of them started to fade away and I felt a great power that I had only felt one before surge throughout my body. I curled up into myself as I fell and spun to the right as the giant snake got punched by a Kyuubi powered Naruto. I shot passed them and continued to fall farther away as a pain shot through my body.  
"KIBA!" Sasuke yelled as I plummeted towards the ground. The snake fell with me and stopped shortly after it went through three tree limbs before the enemy ordered it to attack Sasuke. I snapped my eyes open when the snake went to attack Sasuke and shot out a clawed hand and pierced the snake's flesh as I slowed my decent. As soon as I had slowed down enough I launched myself back up the snake leaving long gouge marks on it as I morphed into a true white tiger. As I ran I felt my soft fur recede to be replaced with a coarse fur and my arm and leg muscles grew larger so I could jump farther with each push off I performed upwards. Seconds before the snake could touch Sasuke it stopped like something had forced it to stay put.  
"Hey kid...are you alright? You big chicken!" Naruto asked and I realized that he had stopped the snake from harming my cousin. As I got closer to the head I saw the man wrap his tongue around Naruto and lift him up into the air before he pulled up his shirt revealing the seal that kept the Kyuubi's power from corrupting Naruto. I saw the enemy's right fingers become shrouded in chakra before he struck at Naruto's midsection hoping to keep the Kyuubi and Naruto from achieving complete harmony with his tailed beast. I forced my body to move faster as the hand struck at my friend, but before I could get there Sasuke jumped in front of the attack and was struck in his midsection. He doubled over and coughed up blood before I forced my body to enter the final stage of the wolf, tiger, and dragon formation and took on the form of a weredragon. I roared with rage as I pushed my wings to their very limit in my rush to save my cousin and the person he cared for.  
"OROCHIMARU!" I yelled as I grabbed my sword and pulled it out of its' sheath. I swung the now black blade at his tongue as I grabbed Sasuke and Naruto before I teleported to stand beside Sakura. She was shaking uncontrollably because the chakra I was giving off was one of murderous intent and it was so strong that it permeated the very air around me. I gently set my cousin down along with an unconscious Naruto, who had passed out when Sasuke's body smacked into him. Sasuke wasn't about to let me fight this guy on my own and tried to stand up, but I glared at him and he passed out from pain and exhaustion as the fight caught up with him. I heard something coming toward my unprotected back and struck out with my left hand and closed it around Orochimaru's tongue. I dug my claws into the muscle and wrapped it around my arm before I lifted my wings and took off into the air dragging him with me. He looked surprised that I had the power to do that after all the damage I had taken from his attacks, and when I suddenly changed directions I was able to land a very solid punch in his midsection that made him cough up blood. I let the momentum from the fall drag us back down to the tree limb below us where we crashed through it before leaving a large crater in the second limb. He groaned in pain and before he could get his strength back I flew to the trunk of the tree and tied him up with his own tongue before I jumped to stand a good distance away from him.  
"Well done, Kiba. But I expected no less from someone who has fought me before. However, I had hoped to get your cousin with one of my curse marks, but I guess you'll have to do," Orochimaru chuckled as he melted into a puddle of mud. I sensed the attack coming from behind me, but I wasn't fast enough to get out of the way in time and felt his fangs pierce my skin.  
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You idiot you can't curse someone who already has a curse mark," I snarled as I morphed back into a human as my black and white stripes started to appear on my skin. Orochimaru looked shocked that I had already been marked and could only watch in horror as the heaven cursed seal he put on me was destroyed by my stripes. I laughed in an evil way as the marks started to recede from my body to be hidden under my collar once again. I dropped to one knee as I felt the after affects from changing forms so quickly start to damage my body. Orochimaru got an evil smirk when I dropped to one knee and stared to advance on me before there were several rage filled roars from directly above us. When he looked up I took the chance to get back to Sakura and the rest of my team who were directly behind me at that point. As soon as I was beside Sakura five fairly large objects shot through the sky and bathed the tree inflames as a midnight blue one landed next to us.  
"Get on!" Bramble yelled as he looked over the angry dragon's neck. I grunted relieved to see an ally at a time like this and grabbed Naruto by the collar of his suit as I threw him up to be caught by Tawny and the red tiger masked girl from before. I turned around to grab Sasuke, but saw that Sakura had already grabbed him and was waiting for somebody to help her get onto the dragon. Before I could help her the dragon had grabbed her and pulled her onto his back before he did the same for me. As soon as I was on his back and the two unconscious boys were safely secured in someone's arms he took off into the sky were he bathed a very large area in dark blue flames before taking off in the direction I had given him. Shortly after we were a little ways away I saw the five other dragons fly out of the fire before bathing it in a multitude of different colored flames and taking off in the direction of the fence.  
"Stay still so I can heal your wounds," someone said drawing my attention back to the dragon I was on. I shook my head as the girl came over to me as a way to say don't worry about me.  
"Leaf don't try to help her. She'll be fine we really need to worry about Sasuke and Naruto first. Make sure they don't have any extremely outrageous wounds before you try to heal their minor injuries," Tawny said to the pale lioness masked girl. I smiled gratefully at her and motioned for Sakura to give me Sasuke since I still had enough energy to check him out giving Leaf enough time to work on Naruto. I looked for anything serious first and finding nothing to bad let out a sigh of relief before I checked to see just what kind of seal had been placed on him. I cursed as I saw that it was a five pronged seal that I couldn't break in my current state of low chakra and decided to wait until the exams were over before I helped him. It was when I pulled his shirt down that I noticed the marks on his neck. I bent closer and studied them as I realized that they were his naming marks and not the curse marks of Orochimaru. I hung my head as I realized that he was truly a warrior now and that meant that he had not only found his mate, but his reason for living. I felt something slip down my face as I knew that the life I had fought so hard to keep my cousin from following was probably going to be the very path he chose since he only appeared to have the dark mark and was completely devoid of any white marks. I stared at my cousin for a few minutes and as I stared I saw the white marks of a balanced person slowly start to appear opposite his black marks, but they were so light that unless you knew that they were there you could easily over look them. I felt a small smile pull at my lips as I gently ruffled my cousin's hair before I started to lose consciousness only to be caught by Bramble.  
"We're almost there, Kiba. Your cousin is a very lucky person to have both marks and not be born as one of us," he whispered as my world was surrounded by blackness. When next I woke I was lying under a dark blue wing as the dragon from before over me, Naruto, and Sasuke from losing to much warmth in our weak states. I smiled at the sight as it brought back memories of when I was on the run with Nightpitch and the others shortly after I had fled my village. I quietly got up and slipped out from under the wing to find Sakura asleep in front of the opening where she had been keeping guard. She couldn't have been out for very long because her breathing and heart rate were still to uneven for someone who had been asleep for a long time. I gently laid her down and pulled out a pink cloak I had thought to bring and wrapped it around her after I pulled my cloak around my own body. I turned so that I was sitting against the right back leg of the dragon where I could see the entrance, but where it was harder for anyone outside of the little area to see me.  
**'I'm happy to see you're not as badly hurt as I thought'** the blue dragon said as he lifted his head to look at me.  
"Yeah, me too. Now tell me how you were able to get so big in the short amount of time I was fighting that man," I whispered back to him.  
**'When you set me down on the ground with the two new recruits I could sense the strength of the man you were fighting and I was scared that someone was going to get seriously hurt, so I started to run as fast as I could and as I ran I felt something well up inside me the same way when you draw upon the power of your dragon beast. I had jumped over a fallen tree and when I didn't hit the ground I thought that I had been snared in a trap, but when I looked around I saw that I was gliding and that I was much larger than I was when I had started running. When I realized that if I lifted my wings I could go higher I pushed myself above the trees and found mother and the others along with that purple haired woman and told them what was happening before we took off towards your location. You should have seen mom's face when she heard that you were fighting Orochimaru after what he did to you the last time you saw him. I launched myself after her and as we flew in attack formation Alpha I spotted your niece and nephew's team heading in the same direction and grabbed them before we hurried to you position and you know the rest'**he said as he focused one large dark blue eye on me. I nodded my head and leaned back against his leg. **'Also I figured out what I want to be called form now on.'** I cocked an eyebrow at him waiting for him to continue. **'I wish to be known as Nova.'**  
"A fitting name young one. If you really like it I will announce it to the clan as soon as this is all over," I whispered to him. He extended his neck and gently butted his head against my shoulder in gratitude and I smiled at him. A few minutes later I got up and checked on Sasuke and Naruto who were still unconscious from the battle. When I checked Naruto I noticed that the fox spirit within him was trying to heal the boy's body as quickly as he could and I felt Difenda give off an approving aura towards her old friend. When I checked Sasuke I found that he had a very high fever and that both of his marks were trying to balance each other out and at the same time trying to gain the upper hand in their fight. I winced at the sight that brought back memories of my own marking and dampened a rag that we had with us before placing it back on his forehead. Nothing really happened for the rest of that night and as the sun came up Sakura awoke and the ninja from the sound village made their presence known to us.  
"What do you want?" I snarled at them. They ignored me and continued to watch us in silence almost like they were waiting for something to happen. I heard something heading towards our location and realized that there were four enemy ninja from the sound instead of three. I quickly slipped over to Sakura's side as the fourth enemy appeared from the underbrush. I made sure that my hood was covering my face as he stepped into the light of the rising sun.  
"Can one of you wake up Sasuke for us?" asked the boy with the weird arm guard thing on. I kept my focus on the boy who had just joined the others as Sakura and the boy with the arm guard started to argue.  
"Listen I promise that if you give us Sasuke the rest of you may go as you please and none of my team will try to go after you," the boy I was studying said without taking his dark green eyes off me.  
"YOU LYING BASTARD! DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT I WOULD GIVE HIM TO YOU AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO ME?" I yelled at the boy.  
"Now there's no reason to get feisty when I'm trying to keep you from throwing your life away for someone as weak as Sasuke. And as much as I would like to end your miserable life I would much rather see you suffering just as you would rather see me dead by your own claws. Don't you agree...Whitetigerstar?" the boy snarled.  
"YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF FOX DUNG! I'LL NEVER LET YOU HARM MY COUSIN THE WAY YOU HARMED ME!" I snarled right back at him.  
"What a shame I thought that you would still have some sense left after all these years, but I guess I'll just have to remind you why I hunted you down and killed your mate and parents," he replied looking bored.  
"BASTARD! I don't care what you do to me, but I will NEVER let you do to anyone else what you did to me, least of all my cousin. And you would do well to remember who it was that killed your associates after you all turned on me, Bone "Crusher" Uragirimono."  
"Well it seems you do remember me and here I was thinking that I was going to be able to kill you and that orange jumpsuit wearing reject all in one go, but I guess it wasn't meant to be," Bone replied with a wicked smile on his face.  
"Sakura I need you to take on the other three while I take Naruto and try to lure that fourth member away from here. Do you think you can do it?" I asked turning towards the girl.  
"I think so, but why aren't you taking Sasuke instead of Naruto?" she replied.  
"I'll have to tell you later for now just protect my cousin with your life and don't worry you won't be alone like I will," I replied as the two new recruits stepped out of their hiding places and took up defensive positions around the opening. Nova wrapped his tail tightly around the two unconscious boys as I walked over to his side and explained my plan to him. He eventually let me take Naruto out of his protective huddle as I got ready to make a run for it the second I had a chance to.  
"And just where do you think you're going with my prey?" Bone asked as he caught sight of who was on my back.  
"I'm going to make sure that you never have the chance to touch this boy. If you want him then come and get him," I hissed as I jumped towards the nearest tree.  
"EHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE! Just like old times eh, Whitetigerstar?" Bone called out as he gave chase to me. I ignored him in favor of focusing on what was ahead of me and not dropping Naruto at the same time. Every few seconds a kunai would come towards us and I would drop down a branch causing the weapon to imbed itself in the wood of the branch above me before I would continue running. I knew that there was a large clearing up ahead and that was my target, but before I could get there I was knocked out of the tree by something from above me. As I fell I lost my grip on Naruto's unconscious body for a second and had to dive forward to catch him before he hit the ground. When I grabbed him we were too close to the ground for me to pull us out of the dive in time to avoid injury, so I pivoted so that his fall would be cushioned by my body moments before we impacted with the ground. "NOW YOU DIE!" Bone yelled as hundreds of senbon flew at us from every direction. They were seconds away from hitting us and I hadn't yet caught my breath from impact, but I forced my pained body to move so that I was above Naruto's body and his was sheltered from any kind of blow that could come at him. I felt some of the weapons go through my thin wing membranes only to stab my body keeping the boy out of harm's way.  
"Never," I panted as I grabbed Naruto and one again headed towards my goal. I heard him growl in frustration at the fact that I had once again gotten away from him with only minor wounds that weren't life threatening even if they got infected. I had to push the pain in my body to the back of my mind as I continued to run from my enemy. Every few hundred meters he would do the same thing and it would end with the same results as before because no matter how much pain I was in the beasts were able to heal enough of my wounds between the attacks that I was able to continue to protect the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki from harm. When I was almost to the clearing Bone jumped me again only this time I ended up landing on my leg breaking the bone enough that it was almost impossible for me to continue.  
"It's all over now. I'll make sure to let you live so you can go back and tell that worthless cousin of yours who it was that killed his friend," Bone taunted as he walked towards me pulling out a short sword. I forced myself to stand and the moment I was on my feet I grabbed Naruto and teleported us away from him and into the clearing seconds before his sword would have pierced my friend. I leaned heavily against the trunk of a nearby tree and tried to catch my breath. I gasped as I felt the pain in my leg flare for just a second before it was subdued by the adrenaline and beasts.  
**'You need to end this the next time you see him. We're at our limit when it comes to your bleeding and if you keep losing it like this we're all going to be too tired to protect you and your friend, Difenda and myself included.'** Kira said as I tore off a piece of my cloak and wrapped it around my leg. After I had cut off the circulation to my leg I felt someone enter the clearing and I pulled out a kunai fearing that Bone had already caught up with us. I sighed when I realized that it was just Kiba-kun and his team.  
"KIBA!" he yelled as he rushed to my side. He was quickly followed by Hinata and Shino when they saw the state I was in. They surrounded me and Naruto and tried to figure out what was going on when Akamaru started to shake as he sensed what I thought was Bone's chakra signature. Seconds passed slower than they should have and I could see Bone's every movement as he tried to punch Hinata out of the way to get to me and Naruto. I pushed myself up and shoved the girl out of the way a second before his fist would have connected with her jaw. My head snapped to the side as his fist connected with my face and the momentum sent me flying into a tree where my back was smashed into the trunk. I slid down the trunk as blood a trickle of blood ran down from my face.  
"Damn you! You took the blow that was meant for that Hyuga girl and here I thought that I would be able to kill two birds with one stone, but I guess it can't be helped seeing as she is one of your new trainees," Bone growled as he stalked over to where Hinata and the others were gathered around Naruto. "I guess I'll kill them all and then I'll let you tell their families that it was your fault they died just like how it was your fault that Scourge died that day," he said as his left hand turned into a werelion's clawed hand. He shot it out to strike the defenseless group and I felt just enough power well up within me to teleport to stand in front of them. I felt his claws big deeply into my back as he swiped at them. I gasped in pain as blood shot out of my wounds and started to run down my back. I fell to my knees in front of my friends and I was able to smile at their horrified faces.  
"You...wheeze...guys should...huff...see the look...cough...on your faces," I gasped out. I could see the fear and sadness on their faces as they saw just how badly I was wounded by that last attack. Shino even looked horrified and I couldn't see most of his face or his eyes to know for certain, but I could hear his bugs swarming trying to figure out why he wasn't doing anything to stop the next blow.  
**'Kiba-kun. When he attacks me again I want you and your team to take Naruto and go back to where the rest of my team is waiting. When you get there tell Sasuke I'm sorry.'** I ordered as I heard the next blow flying through the air. I screamed as I felt the claws dig into my flesh and muscles seconds after I had asked Kiba to leave me there. When the claws connected with my back Kiba-kun grabbed Naruto before he dragged Hinata and Shino away with him. As the claws dug deeper into my back my scream rose in volume before it was cut off by him throwing me against the tree that I had crashed into when I took the punch meant for Hinata. My back landed against the tree and I coughed up blood as the trunk was stained red with my blood from my back wound.  
"How noble of you, old friend," Bone sneered as he lifted me by my throat. I just stared at him not even trying to break the hold he had on my throat or respond to his remark. "Oh, well at least I get to finally finish what I started all those years ago. I'll kill you and then I'll chase down your friends and kill them before I move on to kill the rest of your family. Maybe I'll even kill those dragons of yours, nasty creatures really so I guess I'll be helping the world and hurting you at the same time." I kicked out with the last of my strength, as soon as he finished speaking, and was able to send him far enough away that he would have to get back over to me before he could kill me. I weakly leaned against the trunk of the tree for support and waited for the next blow to land. I wheezed as I fought just to get enough air into my lungs, so that maybe, just maybe, I would be able to fend off his next attack.  
"For that I'll make your death as painful as I possibly can," Bone snarled as he advanced towards me. I felt nothing as I saw him get closer and closer to me, except acceptance at how I was going to die. I felt something sting my eyes as Bone was less than a fox length away from me.  
** 'I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough. Please forgive me great guardians for my failure to do as you asked of me.'** I thought as Bone lunged at me. Before he could connect with me a wall of sand appeared in front of me and blocked his attack. Standing in front of me was Gaara Subaku and beside him were Temari and Kankuro Subaku.  
"Why did you help me?" I gasped out.  
"Because we felt like it, besides we can't let him kill you when we still owe you for letting us stay at your place after I got us kicked out," Kankuro answered. I just nodded my head and tried as hard as I could to stay conscious and to fight the darkness that threatened to take my vision again. I watched as Gaara's sand swarmed around Bone before he could move out of the way. It quickly moved around him and encased his entire body before lifting him into the air where it left him hanging. I moved as quietly as I could from behind them hoping that they wouldn't catch me as I snuck off.  
"Sand Coffin," Gaara said as I silently slinked away from him and his siblings. "Imploding Sand Burial," he called out as I fell to my knees a few inches from being hidden from view by the underbrush. I heard the crunch of bones snapping followed shortly after by the sound of blood falling. A small drop landed on me before it disappeared like it was never there to begin with.  
**'Hold on Master! I'm almost there just hold on!'** someone said to me through a mind link. My mind was so muddled that I couldn't tell who was speaking to me let alone respond to them. I started to fall forward as I felt my mind cloud over with pain, exhaustion, and sadness only to be caught by sand that rose out of the ground and cushioned my fall before I hit the ground. There was a large thud and the last thing I saw was Gaara's and Temari's faces and the last thing I heard was an angered roar before I lost the use of my senses and my consciousness.  
{Gaara's POV}  
'She must hate me if she ran when I was trying to help her.' I thought as I watched her blood red eyes close before she went limp in my arms. I gently lifted her off of the forest floor and carried her back to the clearing where the large female dragon had landed and looked very angry to see her friend unconscious in my arms. She extended her large head and focused me in one of her large onyx colored eyes before she extended her left foreleg towards me. I felt my pulse accelerate when I thought that she was going to attack me, but it slowed when she set it down next to me and waited for me to move.  
**'Why do you hold my master boy?'**she asked. I saw Temari's eyes widen for a fraction of a second before they returned to their normal size.  
"Why does it matter who holds her so long as she is safe?" I responded. She growled at me and moved her head to face Kankuro who looked like he was about to attack her.  
**'Warn your brother that if he so much as thinks of attacking anyone I will shred him.'** she growled at me.  
"Why should I care what happens to him when he's a complete idiot," I responded to her. She swung her head back to face me and her eye was narrowed to just a slit in her rage.  
**'I will never understand what she sees in you. You're nothing like the other two and you're nothing like her either, so she must see something in you that I can't. You should care what happens to him because he is your teammate if not your brother because that is what it means to be what you are. Why she won't let us keep you out of her life I don't know and maybe I never will, but I will not stand here and be insulted by someone like you. Have I made myself clear?'**she growled at me.  
"Fine. I'll relay your message to my brother," I said and turned towards Kankuro. "She says that if you attack or think about attacking anyone she will not hesitate to kill you."  
"Y-yes mam," Kankuro stuttered not taking his eyes off me.  
"What do you want us to do with her?" Temari asked. She motioned me forward and I stepped forward without any hesitation and stood waiting for her to tell me what to do next. I wasn't ready for when she whipped her head around to my backside and grabbed the collar of my shirt before she threw me onto her back.  
**'Follow me Temari. I've wasted too much time as it is and her family is terrified that she's with you three because they have lost contact with her. I'm sure she'll explain the situation when she wakes up. Now take to the sky.**' she said to me and Temari as she lifted her wings and shot towards the sky followed closely by Temari and Kankuro on Temari's wind fan. **'Hold on my friend. Your deputy sent word for the medic as soon as he awoke. Boy I want you to take good care of her because for some reason she finds you worthy to be protected from her enemies and that means she will give her life for you if she must.'**  
"Why would it matter she still fled when I was only trying to help her just like she did when she was my only friend. I want to believe you, but I can't and I probably never will," I muttered as she pulled her wings back and dived towards a clearing in the trees. She pulled up a second before we would have hit the ground and landed on her back legs before dropping to all fours. I used my sand to lift myself and the girl off her back and shortly after I was on the ground Temari and Kankuro landed beside me.  
"Nightpitch why have you brought these three sand ninja with you?" a boy with a white dog called out as he ran over followed by a small group of other people. I subconsciously tightened my grip on the girl's body as they got closer to us.  
**'It's is unimportant at the moment. Where is Tigerspirit?'** she responded to the boy. Before any of the others could respond a boy with a blue shirt broke away from the group and ran towards me at a much faster speed than before.  
"BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU HURT HER!" he yelled as he launched himself at me. The sand made a barrier between me and him as another boy in an orange jumpsuit tackled the boy to the ground. 'That boy was willing to risk his life for this girl. Just who is she to him?' I thought as the blonde boy pinned the black haired boy to the ground.  
"Sasuke, you need to calm down. He isn't the one who was chasing us and he defiantly isn't the one who hurt her like that," he yelled at the boy beneath him.  
"How the hell would you know? You were unconscious during the entire thing," Sasuke yelled back.  
"Listen I don't know how, but I just know that this boy isn't the one who attacked us. If anything it was probably another sound ninja who was ordered to go after me or her by that snake guy from yesterday. So calm down and get it together this isn't the time for her deputy to fall apart when she needs you to lead her clan. If it turns out that he is the one who hurt her then I don't think anyone here is going to stop you, but if you attack him now and it turns out he actually helped her what do you think she'll do when she wakes up?," the blond asked Sasuke.  
"Fine. I don't like it, but you're right so for now I'll leave him alone, but if I find out that you're the one who hurt her I will kill you," he said to me as the blonde got off his chest and helped him to his feet. The sand wall disappeared as five more people entered the clearing and headed in my direction. Temari and Kankuro shifted closer to me as they got closer before three of them stopped and two of the girls from the original group joined them. A girl with a lioness mask approached us followed by another younger girl and stopped when they were only a few feet away from us.  
"Will you please give us our friend?" the younger one asked as she stepped in front of the one with the mask. She walked closer and I was surprised to find that the sand didn't try to form a shield around myself and the girl in my arms. "Come here Leaf. Temari can you help us lie her on her stomach so that we can work on healing her back first?" the girl asked Temari. Temari just nodded her head and helped the girl carry the wounded girl towards a spot in the clearing that was covered in sand. I watched as the sand moved away from them as they set the injured girl down and started to come towards me. Before it got too far from them I made it return to the area and formed a dome like structure around the five of them hiding them from sight. I solidified the sand so that it wouldn't fall on top of them and leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree.  
"Hey kid," someone called out as they approached me. I ignored them and focused on the dome across from me as the person moved to stand in front of me.  
"What?" I asked annoyed that he was blocking my view of the sand dome. As he stood in front of me I recognized the blonde boy who had tackled the raven haired boy earlier.  
"Why did you help her? I mean I know that you don't really know her and that she hasn't really done anything to warrant you saving her life, so I was just curious as to why you helped her," the blonde asked.  
"Why do you people care so much for her?" I responded ignoring his question.  
"You didn't answer my question, but we care because at one point we were like her. We were alone and no one really cared what happened to us, but she did and she was always there when one of us needed someone who understood what we were going through or when we just needed someone to listen to us. That's just the kind of person she is and because she was there when we needed her some of us swore that we would be there if she ever needed us and we try our best to help her in any way we can," the boy responded.  
"So then you help her because you owe her for something she did for you?" I asked confused by his words.  
"No. We help her because she's our friend and someone who is important to us. That's why Sasuke flipped out when he saw her in your arms," he explained.  
"Tell me what she means to him," I asked.  
"I can tell you what she means to just about every person here because I've known her for such a long time and some of these people I've known for just as long as she has. Kiba-chan is Sasuke's older cousin and the only person he considers family as well as his leader, so he will do anything for her because she is the only person he really has left after all these years. To me she is the first friend I ever had and she's a great teacher. I remember the first time I met her some of the older kids were beating me up and she scared them away before she started taking the beatings that were meant for me, but no matter how many wounds she got or how many times people would beat her up she would still smile and make sure that I was alright before she would heal herself," he explained. I felt a pain in my head and a memory of her flashed through my mind when he mentioned how she took the beatings meant for him. I put a hand to my head as I felt that thing stirring within me as I thought of her. "Hey are you alright?" I looked at the blonde boy and saw he had a look of worry on his face as he gazed at me.  
"I'm fine," I responded.  
"If you say so. By the way I don't suppose you saw the face of the person who did hurt Kiba-chan?" he asked me.  
"You don't think I hurt her?" I questioned surprised that he didn't think I had done that to her after that incident with the boy and my brother.  
"Nah. I saw the wounds she has and they couldn't have been made by your sand even if you had made it into a claw and struck her. They were obviously made by some kind of animal claw or possibly a wereanimal's claws. That and I don't think that she would have let your sand harm her even if my life was in danger," he responded giving me a goofy smile and putting his hands behind his head.  
"I saw him. He had piercing dark green eyes and short black hair. Also he had a blue spiked collar around his neck that looked a lot like your friends collar right now," I finished. The boy's head snapped around and Nightpitch let loose a terrifying roar shortly after I had finished my description of the boy who had attacked Kiba-chan.  
**'THAT BASTARD!'** the dragon roared in my head as she whipped her head back and forth in anger.  
"I want a perimeter set up around here for the next mile in case he comes back to finish what he started," the raven called out. Heads nodded and people started to bustle about as the trees and underbrush started to shake and two very large groups of tigers and wolves appeared from within the forest. As they came in they were quickly dispatched to set up the perimeter around the area as the raven and a lavender eyed boy walked over to me.  
"What do you want?" I asked bored with them already.  
"I don't want anything to do with you, but you saved my cousin's life when you intervened in that fight and for that I must thank you. Now I want you to move out of here before I make you," Sasuke said. Before I could respond there was a roar and then standing in front of me was a midnight blue dragon.  
**'You don't get to decide when he leaves, Sasuke. You may be a deputy, but a dragon always outranks you and I say that he can stay.'** the dragon snarled at the boy.  
"You don't get to decide if he can stay or not since you're still a hatchling," the pale eyed boy said.  
** 'That may be true, but I outrank all three of you and I say he may stay if he wishes. Besides if it wasn't for him my mother would be dead.'** a large white dragon said as he landed in the clearing by the sand dome.  
"Why do you care Dragonheart? It's not like it would make a difference if he stayed or left, and I think he should leave," Sasuke said glaring at the dragon. Before the white dragon could respond Sasuke was hanging upside down from the jaws of a black and red striped dragon. "Put me down Bloodwings." The dragon ignored Sasuke's demand and lied down next to the dome where he proceeded to set the irritated raven down. The boy tried to get away, but was pinned by the dragon's left forepaw before he could get very far.  
"I should probably go deal with that. Come on Naruto. I'm not going to risk the anger of my dragon by perusing this subject," the pale eyed boy said as he turned towards the pinned raven.  
"Oh shut it Neji. Go check on Lee while I go and see if I can convince Bloodwings to let Sasuke up," Naruto said to the pale eyed boy before they both took off towards the raven. The blue dragon made no move to leave my side and actually lifted me off the tree trunk before curling himself around me. He swung his head towards Kankuro when my brother tried to silently shift closer to the blonde haired girl, who was watching a pale eyed girl spar with a girl who had a bright red tiger mask covering her face. This caused him to move as far from the dragon as he could without getting to far from me.  
**'He is weak, but funny to watch. Even though he left you alone when you needed someone the most doesn't mean that you should kill him for it.'** the blue dragon said as he focused me in one large dark blue eye. I snorted at the comment and returned my gaze to the white dragon guarding the dome. 'So then you're going to ignore me now or do you just find my mentor more to your liking?' the blue dragon jeered at me.  
"So what if I study him?" I asked the dragon.  
**'Honestly I don't mind, but if you keep watching him he'll come over here and he's in a really bad mood what with his mom hurt as bad as she is. Also think your answers and I'll hear them and that way others can't tell what we're talking about.'** he responded. I grunted in response and continued to stare at the dragon.  
**'Who exactly is his mother? And just who are you?'** I thought to the dragon. It was weird because I was used to conversing with myself out loud instead of in my head.  
**'You know his mother already, so I'll let you put the pieces together. As for myself I don't know how you could have already forgotten me after all I just saw you the night before the exams began.'**  
**'The only dragon I saw before the exams was a hatchling and you can't be the same dragon. You're almost the size of a dragon that I could ride and I doubt you've had any experience in that area.'** I scoffed at him. He rolled his large blue eye at me and blew a gently stream of warm air through my hair before he brought his head level with my own.  
**'I can prove that I'm the same dragon if you want.'** I nodded my head still not believing what he said about being the same dragon and waited for him to continue. Instead of words I saw a memory of the first night that I had met the little midnight blue hatchling only instead of it being through my eyes everything was much clearer and I was looking at myself through the dragon's eyes. I watched as the dragon seemed to be interested in me and how he was able to get me to hold him without a lot of effort on his part. When the memory faded the blue dragon lightly rested his head against the kanji tattoo on my forehead before he pulled back suddenly. **'Leave my master be.'** he growled focusing on my shadow. I don't know what he saw, but whatever it was spoke through my head as well.  
**'I couldn't even if I wanted to, so you're stuck with me too dragon.'** the voice said.  
**'I'm sure not even the great Shukaku would be stupid enough to try anything while he's surrounded by people who could easily defeat him.'** the dragon retorted.  
"Hey Gaara. Those two giving you a headache?" a boy asked as he joined me and the dragon.  
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said wincing at the pain in my head.  
"Nice try, but as a warrior of Densetsu it's my job to know where the tailed beasts are at all times. Don't try to deny it, but like Nova said he isn't likely to do anything especially with three other beasts nearby. Two of them might be tired from trying to save the life of their friend, but I promise you they still have a nasty bite," he said as he leaned against the trunk of the tree beside me.  
**'Shut up, Bramble. You know how they get when she's hurt and if I had to guess part of the reason she's still unconscious is because she's trying to reason with their rage filled minds.'** Nova said to the boy.  
"Or they're trying to keep her from doing something extremely stupid like going full beast mode and tracking _him_ down and all three of them are still tired after that fight yesterday, so I'm not really all that worried about her doing anything stupid or them. Besides thanks to Gaara here her wounds aren't nearly as bad as they looked and with five people working on healing her I'm sure that she'll be up and about before the day ends. So if I was you Nova I wouldn't get to comfy because if I know her she'll make us move the camp and someone will have to give her a sedative before she lets us get anything else done. If you want you and your team can stay here through the night Gaara," Bramble said. I was worried when he offered for us to stay the night because I wasn't sure what would happen, but I decided to stay if the clan agreed to it.  
"I wouldn't mind staying here. If that's all right with you Gaara," Kankuro said as he walked over to join us. I grunted in response to the question and silently decided to wait to see if the girl I had saved would be alright with us staying here. Bramble opened his mouth to ask me what I thought, but was interrupted by a roar and the sand dome exploding outwards. Nova shielded me with his wings and an object shot out of the ruined dome at speeds that weren't humanly possible. Shortly after the thing was high above the forest the older dragons took to the air and started chasing the being through the air. It easily dodged them and went into a dive seconds later and the dragons followed it bellowing flames as they dove. The being landed amidst the ruins of the dome and was bathed in flames.  
{Kiba-chan's POV}  
I flared my wings as the other dragons pulled up and stopped surrounding me in flames. I glanced around the clearing, instantly noticing that the three sand ninja who had helped me were with us, and I spotted Gaara wrapped in Nova's wings. I growled at the hatchling and shot forward as he moved his wings out of my way. Gaara saw me coming and threw his arms up to protect himself and I took the opportunity to grab the scruff of his shirt in my claws. I lifted my wings and launched myself high into the sky and I only glanced down at Gaara when I was high enough in the air that I was certain no one, but those with dragon vision could see us.  
"You can open your eyes," I said stifling a laugh at his scared face. He hesitantly opened his eyes and gasped when he saw where we were. "Relax. I'm not going to drop the guy who saved my life. I just wanted to get away from the clan until the rest of my dragon chakra gets burned off," I explained to the stunned boy. I wasn't all that surprised by his reaction, I mean who wouldn't be scared if a dragon like creature charged at you without any explanation. I shifted my tail and wings so that I could turn around and relaxed into the easy flight as Gaara started to relax.  
"Why did you take me with you?" he murmured.  
"Because you saved my life and I feel like giving you a taste of what it means to be on or with a dragon. Especially now that Nova has decided that you are to be his rider. And this is the only way I can convince Sasuke that you're not the one who hurt me. Besides this is the best spot to see the sunset," I replied to him. I reached down with my other arm and grasped his before I pulled him towards me so that he was cradled in my arms and had less chance of slipping from my grasp. I straightened my flight path and locked my wings in place so I could glide through the skies without much effort. I stayed that way until the sun had fully set and the last rays had faded from our side of the world.  
"Thank you," he murmured as the last ray vanished from sight. I turned my head to look at him and gave him a toothy grin before I started to power stroke higher into the air. I felt him grip my torn shirt as I flew through a cloud to the other side and we emerged wet with water droplets clinging to my scales and his hair.  
"Hey Gaara do you trust me?" I asked. He looked at me like I was insane for asking the question.  
"No more than I would trust a stranger," he responded. I chuckled not expecting anything more from him.  
"That's too bad because this next move is a little difficult, but I know I can do it after all I've been doing this for years," I said. His face didn't show any emotion, but his eyes showed fear and excitement at the same time and I smiled at him before I folded my wings and dove towards the earth. I took a deep breath and roared my joy to the skies as I plummeted to the clearing at full speed. I kept a firm grip on Gaara as we fell making sure that he couldn't slip out of my grip. We fell and to me it felt like time stopped for a few seconds and I took in the sight of Gaara clutched in my arms, the way the moonlight reflected off my scales, the way my wings folded so that they encompassed myself and Gaara shielding us from the bugs in the air, and how Gaara's face still showed no emotion even though he could die. Then time was moving faster than before and we had just passed the treetops and were only a few miles from the ground. I felt Gaara's grip tighten on my shirt and from the corner of my eye I could see that he was excited by this rush. I laughed as I opened my wings and extended my legs slamming them onto the ground as I landed. I bent my legs to keep them from snapping on impact and I heard a loud thud as my wings swooped down to shield both me and Gaara from the others. While my wings shielded us Gaara swung himself out of my arms and stood beside me with one arm grasping my arm making it look like he was in control the entire time. My wings folded back before they once again became a part of me.  
"What the hell, Kiba-chan?" Naruto yelled as he ran over to us. I gave Gaara a quick smile and returned my attention to Naruto and the others as they ran over to us. I groaned as they got closer to us because I really didn't feel like dealing with them.  
'Hey guys. I could really use some claws to climb a tree right about now.' I thought as the others ran over to us. I felt my nails elongate and a rough furred tail sprouted and I turned and fled up a nearby tree. I looked down to see Kiba-kun and Sasuke-kun trying to get me, but they were stopped by Dragonheart winding himself around the tree making a spiky, mad barrier of dragon flesh. I barked down at him telling him if any of the sand ninja followed me to let them past. He snorted in response and I continued up the tree until I was midway up it and I waited there because I could see the sky without the tree limbs blocking the stars. I sighed contentedly and leaned against the trunk as the werewolf parts of me faded away and returned to normal. A few minutes later and I heard the sound of sand gliding through the air and Gaara appeared standing on top of a cloud of sand. He stepped off the sand and it returned to his gourd as he walked over and sat down next to me.  
"Why are you here?" I asked him. He ignored me and I didn't really care about why he was there just the fact that he was there was enough for me. I silently moved closer to him and he didn't move away which made me smile even if it was only just for a second. I was surprised when Gaara gripped his head like he was in pain and I saw Shukaku right next to him. I growled at the beast and moved so that I was behind Gaara and pulled him to me snarling at the shadow. "Shukaku. If you continue like this Gaara will go insane if you keep pushing him and I know that you know that. So I'll only ask you once will you let him be for one night?" I snarled at the beast.  
"K-Kiba. W-What are you d-doing?" Gaara asked surprised by my actions.  
**'Why should I let him be? He is nothing to me and I will do as I please.'**Shukaku said. I saw Gaara's eyes widen when the beast spoke to me.  
**'You will do as she says or I will make sure that the next time I'm in control I'll kick your butt got it?'** Kira snarled at him. I knew that the same anger showed on my face as was in the dragon's voice. I saw Shukaku flinch at the rage in Kira's voice and he very silently slipped back into Gaara's subconscious as I used my mind to make sure that he was locked there at least until I was able to tell Gaara the truth about who I was.  
"Kiba let me go," Gaara said forcefully. I ignored him as I felt the desperation of my actions trigger the more protective side of me.  
"Relax and I'll let you go," I practically hissed back. I winced as soon as the words had left my mouth and loosened my grip on his midsection. "Sorry," I mumbled placing a hand on my head. I couldn't believe that I grabbed him when I didn't want him to hate me even more than he would when he found out who I really was. I was more than a little surprised when he leaned back into my chest and ever so slightly turned his head towards me before he closed his eyes.  
"Are you alright?" he asked leaning his head onto my chest. I buried my head in his red hair and tried to hide from him.  
"No. I'm really not alright. Although I'm pretty sure that I should be asking you that question since you're normally not someone to be all touchy feely usually," I responded as I felt a slight blush touch my cheeks.  
"Why aren't you alright? Aren't all the people you care about down there?" he asked again.  
"No, they aren't all down there," I whispered so quietly that I didn't think he had heard me.  
"Why not?" he asked after a few minutes. I felt the tears gather in my eyes and I took a shaky breath before I answered.  
"Because the four people that mean the most to me are dead," I answered as a single tear slid down my cheek. I grimaced as I remembered why they weren't there with me and felt Gaara stiffen for a second before he relaxed again. I slipped my arms around him again, but this time I didn't grip him like I did when Shukaku was trying to control him, this time I just put them there because I needed to know that this was real and not one of my twisted nightmares.  
"Oh," he responded. I didn't really expect anything more than that and that was exactly what I needed to pull myself back together. I took a shaky breath and relaxed my body back against the tree trunk. I looked at the night sky and focused on two of the brighter stars as I felt Gaara lean back into my chest. I didn't really mind the contact if anything I enjoyed it especially because I knew that before the third exams began he would probably try to kill me.  
"Gaara. You can sleep if you want. I promise I won't let Shukaku take control of your body tonight," I whispered in his ear while resting my head on his shoulder. He didn't respond to my statement and a few seconds later I heard his breathing even out and his heart rate slow down to that of someone sleeping. I smiled to myself and ran my fingers through his red hair making sure not to wake him. 'Oh Gaara. You have no idea how hard it was for me to leave you all those years ago or what I did when I learn of the lies your father told you about me, your uncle, and your mother. There's even a possibility that he lied about how your siblings feel as well, but I can't be sure of that. All that I know is that whether I live or die at the preliminaries in two days' time I know that I at least understand what you mean to me and that I will do whatever it takes to protect you. If that means I die during my fight then I hope that I take the bastard who ruined my life and made yours much harder than it should have been with me to hell.' I thought to myself as I starred at the brightest stars imagining that they were my dead mates and parents watching me even now.  
We stayed like this until the sun rose above the treetops and I gently laid Gaara against the trunk as I moved to the end of the tree limb. I waited there until I heard the sound of rushing wind and Temari and Kankuro appeared on Temari's wind fan. I looked over at them and smiled at their uneasy faces as they got off the fan and walked over to stand behind me.  
"How long has he been asleep?" Temari asked as she came to a stop behind my left shoulder.  
"Most of the night," I replied not taking my eyes off the sunrise. I smelt the fear on them both as they realized that they had let their younger brother sleep the whole night and didn't even know that he had been sleeping until the next day. "Don't worry I locked Shukaku up before he fell asleep, so you shouldn't have to worry about any unexpected transformations at least until the moon is full in a few days' time." I added as an afterthought. I sensed them relax and felt a hand on my shoulder and warm air on my ear.  
"Are you going to tell him?" Temari whispered in my ear. I wasn't surprised that she knew my secret what with her having been there when they healed my back and everything.  
"Why would I tell him now when he is at peace? Besides in two days I know for a fact that everyone will know who I really am and when that happens I won't expect him to forgive me for what I've done and it may not matter because I'll probably die in my fight to protect the people who mean the most to me anyways," I mumbled. I pulled my knee up and rested my head on it as I felt the familiar sting of tears in my eyes. "When he wakes up I want you three to leave. And tell him that I'm sending everyone on their way now that my back is healed, so you three should head to the tower. I'm sure that my team will see you there in a few days."  
"Alright," Temari said giving my shoulder a squeeze before letting go. I heard her walk over to kneel beside Gaara and I stood up and stretched my limbs removing the knots in the muscles. I willed the tail and wings of a dragon to appear and stretched them out as well before I got ready for takeoff. I looked over my shoulder at Gaara's sleeping form and thought 'I wish that you would show this side of you more often Gaara. Maybe then you wouldn't be as alone as you are, but I guess after being treated like a monster that doesn't feel anything you start to act like one.' I turned around and ran the rest of the way off the tree limb. I fell a few feet before I opened my wings and glided to the forest floor where I was greeted by Naruto.  
"Hey," I said to him as I folded my wings and they disappeared again.  
"Hey. So what was last night about?" he questioned again.  
"Naruto. Gaara is like you and me he holds a tailed beast within him only his has been mistreated and abused into thinking that the only way he can prove he exists is by killing others. I was once his friend and you know what I did to him? I left him with his father who tried to kill him because he couldn't control his youngest son because I thought that I was doing the right thing and now I know that I was wrong and that he probably hates the real me. And I really wouldn't blame him if he hated me, but at the same tie I know that I'm willing to do anything for him. Besides I really doubt that it will matter once we get through the second exam because I'm pretty sure that I'm going to die before I get the chance to tell him everything," I said.  
"Oh. Well I hope that you get the chance to tell him the truth as well," he said pulling me into a hug.  
"I sure hope so," I said hugging him back. We broke apart a second later as the others started to pack everything up and got ready to go their separate ways. I grabbed some jerky out of my bag and packed up the rest of my stuff. When I looked up I saw that most of the others had already packed their stuff and saw the people I had once trained helping each other get their stuff packed. I smiled as I saw TenTen and Ino helping each other get packed. Kiba and Shino were helping each other pack as well as Sasuke and Naruto. I shook my head as a memory of when it was just me, my brothers, the few friends that I still had, and my children on the run together packing things up just like this. I went over to Sakura and helped her get her pack up the rest of one of the first aid kits we had brought with us. We mostly had small bandages and a disinfectant ointment left since we had used the large bandages on my arm and back after my fights with Orochimaru and Bone. I sighed and shoved the kit back into my bag as Gaara and his team appeared. I smiled and walked over to them and wished them good luck on their journey to the tower and in the third round as well before they left. Gaara gave me a nod and a small smile once his siblings had turned their backs on us before he took off after them at a slower pace.  
I sighed once they had left and went around making sure that everyone else was ready to leave before I wished everyone good luck and we went our separate ways. I noticed that TenTen and Ino were a little hesitant to leave the other just like how Lee was hesitant to leave Sakura and Neji was hesitant to leave Hinata, but of course Neji hid his emotions behind a blank face the same way Sasuke did. Eventually the clearing was empty except for me and my team.  
"So were should we head next?" Sakura asked.  
"We should head towards the tower because that's where the other teams will head once they have their scrolls and it would be easy to pick someone off when they were off their guard, but Sasuke and I still need to rest and recover from our wounds so it would be better to leave this place for now and find a new place to spend the night before we head off to the tower tomorrow," I said. Sasuke nodded his head in agreement and Sakura and Naruto were more than happy to let us rest after what had happened. We left the clearing and found a river bank that was well sheltered and decided to stay there for the night as the sun was setting when we found the area. We quickly set up camp and I went and checked my snares for food and on my way back came across a young, injured buck that I quickly killed and carried back to camp along with the two squirrels and brown rabbits I had caught with my snares.  
"Alright you found some great food, cousin," Sasuke said as I walked back into the clearing. While I was gone they had set up the tents we had brought with us and Nova had started a small cooking fire.  
"The buck was a lucky strike. I came across the injured guy while I was heading back here, so I put him out of his misery. At least we get to eat well tonight," I replied as I started to skin the animals with my hunting knife. Once I had them skinned and gutted I set them over the fire and waited while they cooked. I took the guts and set them on a rock that I had Nova super heat to fry them so I could eat them since I was planning on eating light so that the others could eat their fill. A few hours later and the food was ready and everyone took a portion of all the animals while Nova and I hung back keeping watch in case anyone had seen the fire or smelled the food. Nova nudged me with his head and I heard a liquid swishing around and saw that he was holding a sake bottle.  
**'Thanks Nova.'** I said taking the bottle and downing the contents. He hummed at me and I watched as he changed from a large dragon back into a hatchling. **'So you finally figured out how to change your size at will huh?'**  
**'I sure did, but I didn't get the chance to show you earlier what with that man showing up and then the traitor, so I was hoping that this and the sake would help you get your mind off things for a while.'** he said climbing onto my shoulder and wrapping his tail around my neck. I smiled at him and rubbed the scales above his eye and he purred in happiness. I walked back to the others after I disposed of the empty bottle and saw that they were just keeping warm by the fire. I took a seat by Sasuke and Nova churred at everyone when he realized that we were back in the camp.  
"When did you get another hatchling?" Sakura asked.  
"I didn't this is something that anyone who has dragon chakra can do. If you want I'm sure Nova here won't mind demonstrating after all he could use the practice," I said. Nova churred at me happy to show off to the others. Sakura nodded her head and Nova jumped off my shoulder and change size in midair. By the time he landed he was the size of a teenage dragon which is just big enough to fly, but not yet strong enough for someone to ride. Nova shook his large head as he release the extra chakra that he had created. "Well I know exactly where to start your training when all this is over," I said chuckling. Nova growled at me and lifted me into the air before he curled around me before he set me down leaning against his left foreleg. I sighed at his antics and rubbed his head when he rested his head in my lap causing him to purr again.  
"That's pretty cool," Sakura said.  
"Yeah. It's one of the reasons I'm always training with Nightpitch and Kira. Although the latter not only makes me extremely mad, but it uses her chakra which keeps her out of my head later. That's what she gets for embarrassing my students," I grumbled trying not to think about the dragon demon.  
**'Are you talking about me?'**Difenda asked.  
"Oh don't worry about it Difenda," I muttered to the wolf.  
"What was that?" Naruto asked.  
"Oh it was just Difenda asking who it was I was talking about. Anyway we should probably head to bed soon after all we'll leave early tomorrow morning so as to avoid the other teams. How does sunup sound?" I asked my teammates. Sakura looked like she was about to object, but stopped when Sasuke said," That sounds like a good idea to me." Sakura quickly nodded her head that she was fine with it and we all turned our attention onto Naruto.  
"Sure," he said nodding his head absentmindedly. Sasuke gave him a worried look, but hid it a second later as Sakura looked at him. I watched as Sasuke got up and headed into our tent and was shortly followed by Sakura heading into her tent. I stayed with Nova when Naruto made no move to head to his tent.  
"What's up Naruto?" I asked as he walked over to me.  
"Is it a good idea to leave here so quickly with you and Sasuke still injured?" he asked as he sat next to me.  
"If it was up to me we would stay here for a day or two, but we only have tomorrow to find the other scroll we need and I'm mostly healed and I plan on healing Sasuke's less serious wounds while he sleeps," I replied.  
"Okay, but why didn't you heal him earlier?" he asked me.  
"Sasuke hates it when I put other's health before my own, so it forces me to do things in a sneaky way when it comes to things like this. Besides when they healed me they not only closed the wounds, but removed any traces of the wounds so it's like they never happened. This makes things easier for me. Why are you so worried about him?"  
"Does it matter why I'm worried about him?" He looked worried when I asked him about why he cared about my cousin and I gave a small knowing smile.  
"It doesn't I was just curious. Don't let it worry you I'll take care of him." I smiled at him and he gave me a nervous smile as well before he started to head to his tent, but I stopped him a few feet from me. "Hey before you head to bed can I check something out? I want to make sure that you don't have a seal on your chakra like Sasuke." He seemed a little confused, but let me check anyways.  
"What do I need to do?"  
"Okay lift your shirt and focus your chakra. And you only need to lift it enough so I can see your stomach." He nodded and removed his jacket to reveal a black undershirt which he rolled up enough for me to see his stomach before he started to channel his chakra. I watched as the eight trigram seal appeared on his stomach and as he focused more of his chakra another five dots appeared around the normal seal. I groaned in annoyance as I recognized the Five Element Seal that Orochimaru had placed on Naruto and Sasuke. I noticed that it wasn't as dark as it was on Sasuke so I looked at it with my Sharingan eye and realized that it wasn't distorting his chakra as much as it was on him either. I sighed with relief when I realized that he wasn't someone that I was going to have to worry about when we got in a fight for our other scroll.  
"Well how bad is it?" He stopped focusing his chakra when he asked that question. I deactivated my Sharingan and motioned for him to pull his shirt back down before I answered him.  
"The bad news is that I can't remove your seal or Sasuke's seal at my current chakra levels. The good news for you is that yours isn't as strong as the one on Sasuke because he took most of the hit, so you won't be completely without chakra unlike him. Meaning he'll only be able to use Taijutsu while you will be able to use any of the three main jutsus only they'll require a little more chakra than normal, but other than that you should be fine." I patted him on the back when I saw his worried face. "And don't worry about Sasuke he'll still be able to use the other two types of jutsus, but they will cost him a lot more than just chakra. I'll make sure to explain everything to him later alright?" I squeezed his arm to reassure him that I wasn't going to let anything happen to Sasuke.  
"Alright. Thanks Kiba-chan. I really needed to hear that," he said giving me a smile. I smiled back and watched as he headed to his tent. I sat with Nova for a few minutes until I heard his breathing even out then I slipped into my tent where Sasuke was asleep. I very carefully removed his shirt and started to heal the wounds on his back and removed a couple scars at the same time. I moved to his chest and saw that the same seal Naruto had was showing on his stomach meaning that he was unconsciously using his chakra while he slept. I sighed and finished my work before I slipped his shirt back on. Once it was on I checked his marks and found that they were okay and decided that it was okay to leave him alone until morning. I slipped back outside and sat by the now dead campfire. I pulled my shirt's left shoulder down and looked at the marks on it. It was the same tattoo that Gaara had on his forehead only I had three of them. I looked at them and remembered the day when I got them put on. I sat there through the night just lost in memories and pain as tears were brought up from the memories.  
"Morning Kiba-chan," Sakura said as she walked out of her tent. I must have been deep in thought because the next thing I know she was standing in front of me waving her hand in front of my face. I jerked back startled and ended up on my back looking up at the sky. "Hey are you okay?" she asked as she helped me up. I rubbed the back of my head and covered the tattoos up as I pulled my mind back to the present.  
"Yeah," I muttered as wiped my bloodshot eyes.  
"You sure? You know if you need to talk to someone about it I'm willing to listen."  
"Yeah, but this isn't something you can talk about with someone who hasn't been through what I've been through or seen what I've seen. And to be honest with you Sakura I'm pretty sure that if I forged a mind link with you and you ended up seeing some of those things you would be more than scarred for life. I mean look at me and Naruto we've seen the side of the villagers that they hide away and try to drown in sake and alcohol. At least it helps us," I muttered the last part low enough so she couldn't hear it.  
"Still I hope that you talk to someone about whatever it is that could make someone like you cry after all it can't be healthy to lock your emotions up and never show them to anyone," she said giving me a worried look. 'You have no idea how right you are.' I thought, but nodded my head to her statement. She nodded as well and walked over to the river where she washed her face before returning to grab the pot we had boiled our water in last night. I turned my back on her and returned my attention to my left shoulder and the tattoos. I sighed and pulled the shirt down a little more and revealed two fresher tattoos that were of the same symbol. I frowned unable to remember when I got them and realized that they were still fresh enough that if I touched them it stung.  
**'When did you two decide to give me two more tattoos?'** I asked Difenda and Kira.  
**'Last night when you were sitting here thinking about the past. We realized that we had missed two people and decided to place two more tattoos to show that they did exist.'**Kira said.  
**'Correction. She decided that you should have a tattoo for every single person that you've lost.'** Difenda clarified.  
**'Remove the two new ones**___**now**_**.'** I snarled at Kira. She muttered about me being unfair and I watched as new skin grew over the tattoos removing them from my body. **'Don't you ever do that again. These aren't to represent those that I've lost, but the ones that I still have you idiot.'** She grumbled at me some more before she agreed to my terms. I jumped when I felt a hand placed on my shoulder and turned around to see Sasuke standing there.  
"We need to talk," he said before he walked away from the camp site. I was about to follow him when the two newbies stepped in front of me.  
"What is it?" I asked. They looked at each other before they looked back at me and Snow walked forward.  
"We just wanted to let you know that the sound ninja have made it to the tower along with the sand ninja and most of the leaf genin that helped you yesterday," she growled.  
"Good to know. Both of you watch the campsite while I go and talk with my cousin," I said. They nodded before they disappeared into the underbrush and I walked over to my cousin. He turned around and glared at me as I walked up to him and sat on a rock with my hand under my chin.  
"What the hell were you thinking last night?" he asked me. I sighed and knew that I had been caught.  
"Look it was either heal you or let you become a liability, well more of a liability then you are right now, and I chose to make sure that when we got in a fight you wouldn't be able to get in the way. Besides with you unable to tap into your chakra right now I need to know that you will be able to at least dodge the attacks coming without the Sharingan," I stated in a matter of fact way.  
"Why wouldn't I be able to use my Sharingan? I just used it yesterday and nothing happened." He had a confused look on his face as I launched into the explanation of how his Heaven Marks had fueled his normal chakra, but now that they were dormant again the seal on his stomach was going to force him to rely only on his Taijutsu meaning he couldn't access his Sharingan. He took it better than I expected and at the end of the explanation just nodded his head and said we should bring something back for breakfast that way we could say we were just looking for something to eat instead of talking about what I did.  
I led the way back to the river and performed the shadow clone jutsu before I sent my clones up a tree. Sasuke and I stood beside the river bank and waited for them to jump down. A few seconds later I saw the clones falling through the air and pulled out a couple kunai while Sasuke copied my stance and number of weapons. The four of them hit the water and created a large splash that sent five fish into the air. We threw the kunai and hit every single fish dead on causing them to fly backwards and the kunai to bury themselves in the trunk of a tree.  
"That should be enough," I said as I released the jutsu and crossed the river. Sasuke followed me and we started to remove the fish from the trees and then waded back across the river. He insisted on carrying the fish, so I walked a little ways ahead of him looking around every now and again to see if there was a juicy rabbit or squirrel nearby. We walked in silence and before we rounded the corner to the camp I heard a growl and dashed around the corner followed by Sasuke. I saw Snow and Kyo standing in front of Nova who appeared to be wrapped around my other teammates. I took one glance at them and followed their faces to see Kabuto standing there with his hand outstretched to touch something and realized that it was our scroll.  
"Don't even think about moving," I whispered in his ear. He stiffened and when he turned to face me I pulled out my black katana and pressed the steel into his throat while I rested my other hand on my white katana. H watched as the black blade hanged into a red blade that had curved blades sprouting from the main body like they were put there to add an intimidating effect to the blade.  
"Kiba don't hurt him. He stopped Naruto from opening the scroll," Sasuke said as he walked over and grabbed our scroll off the ground. I looked over at Naruto who nodded his head in agreement with what Sasuke said.  
"Well I guess it's your lucky day Kabuto. You get to live and I'm even going to let you walk away right now, if you don't try to stick around I might even keep my friends from ripping you apart. Now how does that sound?" I purred sweetly.  
"Please you couldn't beat me even if you wanted to," he replied with a smirk.  
"You want to bet?" I growled menacingly as I pushed the blade forward so that his neck was between the main body of the blade and the top most sickle blade shaped protrusion. "How about this I kill you and take both of the scrolls on you right now."  
"Please you wouldn't kill me."  
"Then how about you fight me for both of your scrolls?"  
"Why would I do that when you owe me for saving your team from being disqualified from the test?" I growled in my throat and reluctantly removed my blade from his throat. The moment that it was no longer being used to attack someone it reverted to its original form. I swung the blade behind me and put it in its sheath letting the jeweled handle show over my right shoulder and the other over my left shoulder.  
"Fine now leave," I growled at him.  
"Now, now. You shouldn't be so rude to someone who saved you from elimination," he reprimanded.  
"And you shouldn't anger someone stronger than yourself," I retorted.  
"Whoever said you were stronger than me?" he questioned. I looked at him for a second before I started laughing at his stupidity.  
"Please Kabuto I know all about you and you really don't know anything about me. Tell me what exactly do you know about me?" I retorted in between laughs. I walked closer to him and whispered in his ear," Besides someone who works for Orochimaru should know when they're out classed. Especially when Orochimaru failed in his mission so recently against me. Don't you think?" He looked a little shocked that I knew he worked for Orochimaru, but disguised his unease with a laugh and a smile. He still wouldn't leave after that and I decided to let it go on one condition. He agreed to help us get our last scroll and I was happy, so he stuck around for breakfast and once we had all eaten we headed out towards the tower.  
We were still a long ways away from the tower when Naruto and I noticed something behind us and threw a kunai without thinking about it. It ended up being a very large centipede that was now stuck to the trunk of the tree. It had startled us, but thankfully no one screamed when they saw the size of the thing and we were able to continue towards the tower. We had to dodge some traps as we moved and at one point I had to jump over Naruto and use the substitution jutsu to keep the both of us from being impaled by thousands of kunai when he accidentally triggered a trap. Kabuto and I took the lead after that and made sure that we avoided the traps before we got to them. As the sun set we found ourselves right back where we had started with the giant centipede from before.  
"Damn it," I cursed under my breath and realized that we had been walking in circles all day.  
"We got caught in a Genjutsu and now that we're nice and tired they're going to attack us. Aren't they?" Sasuke said.  
"Yep and they're going to have an advantage because while we're tired they're going to be at full power," Kabuto said. I looked at Naruto and we both smirked at the situation.  
"That's just the sort of handicap I need for a good warm up how about you?" I asked him as we were surrounded by doppelgangers.  
"I couldn't agree more, Kiba-chan," he answered as he ran up to one of the doppelgangers and punched it in the gut. The spot that he punched it became a hole in the figure and it threw a kunai at Sasuke. I moved in front of him as Kabuto tackled him to the ground and caught the weapon with ease.  
"It seems that we're fighting illusions, but there is someone nearby who is watching us so that they can attack us. Are you alright cousin?" I asked as I watched the illusions close in on Naruto and us. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that he had activated his Sharingan and that was sapping the small amount of chakra he could access at that moment. "Idiot," I muttered as I walked over to him and jabbed at a pressure point that would deactivate the Sharingan.  
"Thanks," he said as he leaned on one arm trying to get some of his strength back. I grunted and punched a few of the doppelgangers away from us as we backed up into a tree.  
"You ready Naruto?" I asked him. He looked at me lie he was waiting for me to ask that question.  
"Alright let's do this," he said as we both built up our chakra to the correct levels needed.  
"SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" we yelled together.  
"Alright everybody know the plan?" I asked the clones.  
"We got it. Now can we go get down to business?" the clones yelled back. I smirked at their attitudes and knew that Kira had used a little of her chakra to make them more battle hungry. I returned my gaze to the enemy and gave a toothy smile as I ran my tongue over my canines.  
"CHAARGE!" we all yelled as both groups of clones ran forward and started to destroy the illusions.  
"Those two really don't give us much of a choice do they?" Kabuto asked as he pulled out a kunai.  
"No, but at least they're right about this," Sasuke said as he ran in behind us. He was soon followed by Kabuto and Sakura who helped him take down the illusions that the clones, Naruto, and myself didn't take down. We fought until through the night and shortly before dawn we all were out of energy and Naruto and I lost the control on our clones. They disappeared and the two of us lay on the forest floor waiting completely out of breath. As we tried to catch our breath the illusions disappeared and the true enemy showed their faces.  
"Now if you will be so kind as to give us the scroll we'll leave you here in one piece," the middle one said. I pushed myself into a sitting position and got a look at their faces for the first time. I smirked as I recognized one of them.  
"Why don't you come over here and take it? Maybe I'll stab your other shoulder this time," I said smirking at the one in the middle.  
"You! You're the one who almost cut my shoulder off! I guess this is my lucky day because I get to repay you for that wound," he snarled as he pulled out a kunai.  
"And just how are you going to do that when I'm over here?" I asked as the real me put a sword to his throat. My wings folded forward and the poisonous spikes on them poked the other two in the neck. I purred in a sweet way as I pushed them closer to breaking their skin.  
"Knock it off Kiba. We just need their scroll not their heads" Sakura said as she, Kabuto, and Sasuke stood up from the bush behind me.  
"What? But how did? When did you get behind us?" the left one said. Naruto sat up and smirked as we both held up one hand and released the chakra that was keeping two of my clones looking like Sakura and Kabuto as he released the chakra making his other clone look like Sasuke.  
"They were never really over there to begin with. Well done with the jutsus Naruto," I called as the clones disappeared in a puff of smoke. "You ready Naruto?" He looked back at me and smiled at me. I chuckled darkly and the three ninja looked at me. The moment everyone was focused on me Naruto moved forward and punched the person on my left sending him into his teammates where I batted them away with my wings giving them some nasty bruises at the same time. They flew back a few feet, but were still able to get back up after they crashed into the trunk of a tree. They disappeared in a puff of smoke and we were surrounded by chakra clones this time. One of them attacked Naruto, but Kabuto tackled him out of the way. While they were down I heard Sakura yell at Sasuke about something, but I ignored her and jumped in front of Kabuto and Naruto as one of the ninja appeared out of the ground and swiped at me. He cut me across the nose and I yelped in pain thankful that he had missed my eyes. I put a hand to my face and when the three of them appeared in front of me my anger got the better of me. The whites of my eyes became the same crimson color as my iris' and my pupils narrowed to slits as I glared at the frozen forms in front of me. Before I could strike them Naruto had kicked them away from me and I was able to push the emotions back down and regain control.  
"Are you alright Kiba-chan?" Kabuto asked. I rubbed the back of my neck as I felt a sting from my marks and smiled at him.  
"I'm fine thanks to Naruto. He really saved my butt just now," I said. He offered me his hand and I took it letting him pull me to my feet. "Give me the Shinobi skill cards with the data about me, Sasuke, and Naruto right now and I won't say anything to the others agreed?"  
"Now why would I do that when you don't know where they are?" he asked me again. I opened my mind and pushed into his as I heard the thoughts that were in his head at that moment. 'She'll never figure out that I hid them in the left pocket inside my shirt.' he thought. I smirked at him and quickly withdrew my mind from his as I looked him in the eye.  
"Left pocket inside your shirt. Now give them or I take them. Got it?" I snarled at him. He looked fairly surprised, but pulled out the cards with a grumble. I took the deck from him and set it on fire before his very eyes to make sure that he couldn't do anything with them again. I then stuffed the ashes in a bag I carried that I sealed shut and tied to my wrist before I released the boy. He grumbled at me, but continued to travel with us to the tower where we parted ways and entered the tower. We read a plaque that was about what a Chuunin really was and opened the scrolls. Iruka sensei appeared and told us we passed the second test then explained what would have happened if we had opened the scroll too soon. A few hours later we were told we were going to have a preliminary round because there were too many participates to continue to the third exam. Kabuto dropped out and the proctor disqualified him as Naruto questioned why he was dropping out. I ignored them for the most part because my marks had started burning my neck and I noticed that Sasuke's marks were bothering him as well.  
"Sasuke you have to drop out. You don't know what those marks could do. Especially since that Orochimaru guy put them on you they could be a way for him to control you or something," Sakura whispered to my cousin.  
"Shut up," he whispered back.  
"Fine if you won't drop out then I'll tell them what happened and they'll pull you out of the competition," she said as she started to raise her hand. He slapped her hand down as she started to raise it and glared at her shocked face.  
"I said shut up. Now do it besides this is more than a test to see if I'm ready to be a Chuunin this is a test to see if I'm strong enough," he said to her. I turned around and looked him in the eye as he started to say the next sentence.  
"Don't say it Sasuke. You don't understand what it means to be an avenger. It doesn't mean you get to kill the person who hurt you or the people you care about. Being an avenger is a path that will bring you nothing but pain, sadness, and loneliness. That path you think you want to walk is one that will destroy you in the end," I whispered my voice full of pain and longing. He froze and my teammates focused on me. "If you want to be alone, hated, uncared for, and unloved for the rest of your life then go down that path. I did and it cost me everything. It cost me the very people that made my miserable life worth living. If I hadn't followed the path of an avenger Nachur-chan would still be here with us today. Instead he's nothing, but ashes and a face that will haunt my dreams for the rest of my life. If you want to have that kind of pain then follow that path otherwise stop acting like someone who lost everything when you still have the most important person in your life right in front of you," I growled at him. He hung his head and we turned to face the teachers. "Sakura a piece of advice. Stay out of my family's business or next time I'll let Nightpitch and the others beat you senseless," I growled over my shoulder at her.  
"Alright you maggots listen up," Anko called out. "Your matches will be decided by random match ups. Everyone's names have been entered into the machine and before every match we will display the participant's names on the board above me. If you are not one of the fighters please move to the viewing area above the arena to watch. Now for the first match." I rubbed circles in my neck and looked around the room to see how many people we left. There were twenty-eight of us left, six from Densetsu, the four from Sound, the three from Sunagakure, and the fifteen from Konoha. 'So there's going to be a total of fourteen rounds and that means I have a one in twenty-seven chance of fighting Bone. If someone else gets him then I will have to intervene before he can kill them. I won't watch as another person I know dies.' I thought to myself. I heard a gasp of horror and looked at the board. I smirked when I saw the board and laughed at the good luck I had. It said Whitetigerstar vs. Bone "Crusher" Uragirimono.


	8. The Preliminaries Part 1

**(Now for the fight.) ~Kiba-chan**  
(("Speech" **'Mind.'** 'Thought'))  
I looked at the board and laughed as it sunk in that I was going to have to fight the very person who had made my life a living hell. When I looked around I saw that many of my friends had worried looks and some of them glanced over at me before they quickly looked away again. I looked over at the Sand Siblings to see how they reacted to knowing that their old "friend" was here at the exams. Gaara looked like he was going to kill someone and the other two just looked uncertain and maybe torn between fear and relief. I looked away and watched as Bone walked forward and stood in front of the proctor. When I went to stand across from him I was stopped by a hand on my arm. I didn't have to turn around to know that it was Sasuke who had grabbed me and instead I just kept my focus on Bone.  
"You don't have to do this. It won't change anything if you fight him. It won't bring them back you know. Besides I don't know what I would do if you..," he said fear in his voice.  
"I'm going to tell you the same thing you told Sakura a few seconds ago. Shut up. I have to do this because I'm an avenger and it's my duty to kill the bastard who ruined my life and tried to do the same thing to you," I said turning to look at him. "At least that's what I would have said to you a few years ago, but now I'm doing this because I'm tired of the lies and the running. I'm tired of living in fear for Sakura's, Naruto's, and your life brother. I won't let him leave this place alive and if I die on the battlefield I'm going to make sure that I take that bastard with me at least." He looked stunned by what I had said and when I felt his grip on my arm loosen I yanked it out of his grasp and walked towards the front of the group. With each step I took memories of my life flashed before my eyes and I felt all the old emotions rise up with each one. I saw my dragon dead at my feet, my parents dead in my arms, Scourge jumping in between me and the blade that took his life, the group of people who I had brought together and made into a family, the two people in that group that I had fallen for as I said good-bye and promised to come back to them, and Nachuraru as he cupped my cheek lovingly as his life drained away. And I remembered the last words that they had all said to me. I love you. Those three words gave me the strength to walk forward and fight the bastard who ruined my life.  
"Well what do we have here? I honestly didn't think you would be so eager to go to an early grave, but then again I guess you don't really have any reason to stay on this earth now that you don't have anyone to live for," Bone sneered as I stood in front of him and Hayate.  
"No I don't plan on going to an early grave, but I'll make sure that Scourge gives you the royal treatment when I send you to the fiery pits of the underworld," I hissed back at him. I looked over at the sensei's that had come to support their teams and made eye contact with my oldest brother, Tigerstar. I gave him a slight nod and he responded by giving me the same nod. Before anyone could move five Densetsu ninja surrounded my and Bone.  
"Are you sure about this old friend?" Firestar asked me.  
"Firestar. It's not like she really has a choice or do still doubt that he'll issue the sacred wereanimal challenge?" Faolan asked as he looked at my friend.  
"Oh you don't have to argue about that because I don't plan on letting someone intervene in this fight before I can kill that monster. And before you say anything else Faolan I'm issuing the Shi no chosen against your sister there," Bone sneered at my other brother.  
"I accept your challenge and I also suggest that Spottedfur does the honor of refereeing this fight, so as to make it a somewhat fair fight," I said before my brother could respond.  
"I would consider it an honor to referee a fight between two renowned warriors of my village, Whitetigerstar. At least I'll have something to tell my grandkids," Spottedfur said as she came to stand beside us.  
"Please call me Kiba. I am no longer the great Whitetigerstar not since that horrible incident ten years ago," I snarled narrowing my eyes to slits. She bowed her head respectfully and motioned for the others to take up their positions. They nodded and ran to stand a few feet in front of the group of genin and the group of teachers.  
"Four Violent Flames Formation," the four remaining warriors called out in unison. As the purple colored barrier formed itself Kakashi tried to be the hero and ran towards the barrier only to be tackled to the ground by a clawed Bramble and Tawny. They quickly pinned Kakashi down and by the time their father had hauled them off of him the barrier was erected. I saw my brother growl something to Kakashi whose visible eye widened a fraction before he stared at me with horror on his face.  
"All right now I'm going to state the rules for this particular Shi no chosen. Rule one each combatant may use all of the forms that are at their disposal and can switch between them as often as they like. Rule two if anyone on the outside interferes with this fight the person they interfered with or assisted will die by the claws of all the Werewarriors here today. Rule three this fight can only be stopped when one or both of the combatants are dead. Is this clear?" Spottedfur asked those outside of the barrier.  
"Alright, but Kiba is this really what you want?" the Hokage asked as he spoke for everyone present.  
"She doesn't have a choice now that she has accepted the challenge. If she backs out now she will die," Sasuke answered from across the room.  
"Very well. Where is the safest place for those who aren't fighting to watch this fight?" Hokage asked again.  
"Around the edges of the barrier. It's more likely that they will be able to break through the top of the barrier than the sides, so everyone needs to stay on ground level," she answered once again. I saw the Hokage nod his head in understanding and stepped back to join the other teachers. I saw Kakashi go over to stand with Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Neji, and Kiba-kun as they stood at the front of the group so that they could better see the fight. "Let the fight...BEGIN!" I jumped out of the way as a kunai flew underneath me and continued to dodge the attacks that Bone continued to launch at me. 'Just a little farther you idiot.' I thought to myself as I lured Bone into a trap. Bone sneered at me when I was backed into a corner and he launched himself at me thinking that I was an easy target. I smirked right back at him and jumped up as he ran underneath me. I twisted in midair and slashed his back with a kunai landing on all fours with my soft, tiger pelt ready for his next attack.  
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGGG," Bone yelled as blood squirted out of his back. "You'll pay for that monster." He turned and faced me as his black and white fur burst out over his skin as he took on the form of a werecat. He snarled at me and we launched ourselves at each other and fell to the ground in a tangle of fur, claws, and fangs. He was able to pin me down and used his back claws to shred the soft skin on my underbelly. I gritted my teeth and hissed as I used my back feet to throw Bone off of me. I rolled away as my white fur receded and I returned to my human form. I performed a few quick hand signs and healed the wound on my stomach enough so that it wouldn't continue to bleed. When I looked back up Bone had disappeared and I pulled out a kunai and waited for him to make a move. I wasn't prepared for him to drop onto my back and stabbed me with a kunai in my shoulder. I yelped in pain as I felt the muscles in my shoulder were torn by the weapon. "Well I guess you're not as strong as you thought you were. You know I think that when I'm done with you I'll kill your friend. I think I'll start with that blonde boy and then the pinkette and finally your cousin. Or better yet I'll do to him what I did to you. Then I'll go after that red head after all you seem to be quite close to him, so he'll have to die just like Nachuraru did. Shame really I never had anything against them, but they made your life better and I couldn't have that know could I? Of course not then your punishment wouldn't be complete," Bone said as he pushed another kunai against my throat.  
"Bastard," I said as I started to struggle against his hold on my arms. I was able to hit him in the jaw as I struggled against him. He yanked my head back by my hair and pressed the kunai into my neck drawing blood.  
"You'll pay for that you monster," he snarled at me. He then proceeded to smash my face into the ground multiple times. When he stopped smashing me into the floor he lifted my by the throat and I started to struggle against him once again hoping that I would be able to get away from him before he was able to do anything else to me. He just laughed at my attempts to break free and threw me into the far wall. I was able to twist in the air so that my back hit the wall instead of face first. The impact nocked the air out of my lungs and as Bone walked towards me ready to end the fight and my life. As he walked towards me a black swallow tail butterfly caught my attention as it floated by in front of my face. When my eyes focused back on what was in front of me I saw the two black robed figures from before standing in front of me.  
"Stand up Kiba. This is not how it should end and it's not how your mates would want you to end it," the masked male said. I rolled over and coughed as blood gushed out of my mouth and some of it ran down the sides of my lips. I pushed myself up as I thought about what he said.  
"Kiba. This is not who you are. You are the person who should be able to kill that man after what he did to you. You should be able to stand up and stop him before he hurts someone else," the girl said.  
"What's the point? I've lost everything. My mates, my parents, my home, and the person I love the most hates me after what I've done," I coughed out. I stayed bent over as I waited for an answer or for Bone to just kill me and get it over with.  
"You don't know that," she said again.  
"Yes I do. I watched him as he showed the hate and rage he has deep within him and that was just when he saw my name, so if you can really convince me that he doesn't hate me then maybe I'll have a reason to fight other than to kill him. If you can't find one then I'll die right here along with that bastard," I continued as tears stung my eyes.  
"Then remember what they would have wanted. Would they have wanted you to end your life or live it to the fullest you can? I know the answer, but I'm curious if you know that answer," the male said. I thought about it and when I focused back on the two of them I smiled because I knew the answer to that question and I wasn't about to disappoint my loved ones.  
"Then I guess it's time I get serious, huh?" I said as I pushed myself up against the wall. I saw them smile at me and they moved to stand in the far corner as I released the rest of my stored up chakra reserves in one instant. The added boost to both my chakra and the beasts' chakras instantly healed my wounds and increased our strength twenty fold. The chakra was so powerful that you could actually see it.  
"You're right Bone. You will pay for what you did you bastard," I yelled as I released the seal that held Difenda back from using her full power on my body. The chakra changed from a red to a pitch black color as the chakra wrapped itself around me and took on the shape of a wolf. I opened my mouth and roared as my first three tails appeared. They were the one tail, two tails, and the true thirteenth tail of the wolf spirit. "Now you DIE!" I roared.  
"So you do still have some fight in you, but those two beasts of yours can't help you when they're sealed within you," Bone sneered at me.  
"That's where you're wrong idiot. The power of the beasts isn't sealed anymore. I removed the seal three months after you drove me out of my home. And now they're going to help me rip you limb from limb as you beg for mercy!" I said as a pair of true dragon wings sprouted from my back. Bone visibly paled and I laughed as I slowly walked towards the boy. He trembled as I got closer to him and started to walk back. I snarled as I saw the terror start to take over his face. I dropped to all fours as he was backed into the wall and I crawled over to him.  
"You really are a monster," he said as I took my claws and left shallow cuts on his body.  
"Wrong. A monster would torment someone every second they got. Unlike you I never went after your mate, children, or anyone you ever cared about! I left them alone, but you! You attacked my family, my mate, me, my cousin, and my kids. I never harmed yours, but you killed mine and now it's time for me to keep the promise I made to a very dear friend of mine. One you tried to kill and one you tried to scar for life," I growled as two people appeared from within the crowd and pushed forward so that they were able to see me and Bone. I grabbed him by the neck and pulled him over to the barrier and pushed his face into it so that he could see the two people he had almost killed. "They were your mate and son, but you treated them the same way you treat me right now. You sent your son to try and kill me because you thought I would kill him for being your son, but instead I took him in and trained him and now he is my deputy. Tell me how does it feel to know that your son is a better warrior and killer than you ever were?" I hissed as he looked at his mate and son.  
"They're dead to me," he said as he spit in their direction. I growled and took him and slammed him into the ground multiple times as I started to get ready to kill him. After he was stunned and bleeding on the ground I took to the air and started to focus my chakra into my palm as I willed it to form a single spike. I dove at him and sent up a cloud of dust to mask what I did to him. I wrapped one of my three tails around his chest, throat, and waist as I drove my hand into his chest. "Please can you forgive me?" he whispered as his life force drained away.  
"I will never forgive you. I will make sure that you are remembered as the monster you are so long as I have blood in my body and air in my lungs," I hissed as I pierced his heart. As the dust settled I wrapped my claws around his heart and pulled it out of his chest before I crushed it in my hand. I snapped his neck for extra measure and stood up as I replaced the seals that kept my power in check. I just stood there and stared at the body of the person who ruined my life. 'I did it. I'm finally free of him. My family and friends are safe from him and his intentions after so many years.' I thought to myself as tears fell down my face.  
"Well done Kiba. You are the winner of this Shi no chosen. Now that you have won your fight you're free to go and continue with your life as you please," Spottedfur said as she came and stood beside me. I ignored her and continued to stare at Bone's body as two lights appeared above me. I watched as they took on the shapes of a demon and an angel winged man. I stared at the figures unable to feel anything even as I saw them step out of the lights and make their way towards me. I felt Scourge place his hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him and Nachuraru for the first time in months. I felt tears start to flow down my face, but I was unable to move my body as they both cupped one of my cheeks and rubbed it lovingly before they gave me a kiss.  
"Thank you love," Scourge said as he put his lips next to my ear. The tears flowed faster as Nachuraru leaned in close and kissed me on the lips again.  
"Yes. Thank you for bringing the man who killed us to justice and for loving us when we were with you and your friends," he said as he gently stroked my cheek. I opened my mouth to say something, but all that came out was a choked sob as I hushed me.  
"Come on you two. You can't stay here anymore. We've given you all the time we could now let's go before someone else comes looking for you two," the masked male said as he and the girl walked over to us.  
"We know, but leaving her a second time is so hard. Especially when she is still hurt by what has happened here today," Nachuraru said as he stood up and raised his angelic wings. The masked duo just nodded their heads in understanding and waited for Nachuraru and Scourge to leave me. The two of them stood up and walked over to the others as they prepared to leave. I just watched them and sobbed as they left me again.  
"Kiba. Nachuraru and I want you to remember that no matter what happens we'll be with you even if you can't see us. No matter what happens remember that we both love you with all our hearts and that we approve of your new mate choice," Scourge said as he and the others started to fade away. I smiled at the four of them.  
"Thank you," I said as they faded away. As they faded away I was brought back to the real world and saw my brothers and Sasuke standing in front of my looking worried.  
"Kiba? They've taken the barrier down and you can leave now," Sasuke said as he looked at me worriedly. I ignored him and pushed myself up so that I was standing and walked away from the body and everything it meant to me and so many others I knew. I walked past my friends, allies, teachers, and family and towards the group of three members that had appeared angry with me before the fight. I saw the anger and hate in their eyes as I walked up to the one who radiated the most killing intent and looked him in the eyes. I only saw hatred and anger at first, but the longer I looked in his eyes the more emotions I saw. I saw anger, hate, pain, betrayal, and above all longing. I understood what he was feeling and knew that I was partially, if not completely, responsible for those emotions. Then right there in front of everyone I dropped down to one knee and bowed my head to him in a sign of the utmost respect as I completely exposed myself to any attacks they threw at me.  
"I'm sorry, Gaara," I said as I bowed to him. "I do not expect forgiveness or your trust. I am fully prepared to take the punishment I deserve for what I did to you all those years ago. I shouldn't have left you or your siblings when I fled your village all those years ago, but I honestly thought that if I took you three with me you would die sooner than if I left you with your father. Looking at you and your brother and sister I see now that by leaving you there I made your lives horrible. For this I apologize to you and your siblings, but I also want you to know that no matter what you do after this I will always be there for all of you. If that means that one day I give my life for one of you then so be it," I finished as I waited for a response. When none came I rose to my feet and walked over to the doors of the tower as a loud rumble was heard outside. I opened them and in stepped Nova carrying a large bottle of Sake. "Thanks," I said as I took the jug and uncorked it. I smelled it and then took a couple of swings from the bottle.  
"Really Kiba you shouldn't be drinking. You're far too young to drink anyways," Kakashi said as he took the bottle from me.  
"I didn't hear you saying that the night you flirted with me in that bar," I retorted as I took the bottle back from him. "Now leave me alone you idiot." I took a few more swigs of the bottle and corked it before I tied it to a loop in my belt. When I looked back at Kakashi his face was red with outrage as he began to deny hitting on me. I just shrugged my shoulders and in my place was a twenty-one year old woman who looked like an older version of me. He snapped his mouth shut after that and I returned to my twelve year old body as I leaned against Nova with tears in my eyes. "Sensei? Does the pain ever get easier to live with?" I asked as the tears began to run down my face.  
"Some days will be better than others," he said as he walked away. I nodded my head and watched as Nightpitch landed outside the door before she shrank enough to fit through the door and walked in to stand next to me. I ran my hand over her black scales and stopped when I came to her shoulder where a riding saddle had been placed. In the saddle bags I found letters to every ninja village that I had sent a wanted poster to saying that the person had been caught and now they no longer had to search for him. I moved onto the saddle straps as I made sure that they were correctly positioned so that the saddle wouldn't fall off if they hit turbulence.  
"You're leaving right now?" a female voice asked. I continued with my work and didn't respond to her until I was satisfied with the way the saddle was strapped onto Nightpitch before I responded to her. I looked over at her and recognized my old friend Snowleopard by the snow leopard mask she always wore.  
"No, but my oldest son is leaving to distribute these letters to the villages that I sent out when Bone got away that day I found you after your son led me to you," I said to her as Blackpanther and Bloodeyes came over and joined us. I pulled my son into a hug and gave him a kiss as he pulled on his padded ridding vest. "Good luck and thanks for doing this. I know you don't like me staying here with Gaara without you."  
"I may not like or trust him, but I do trust you so I'll live for now. Can't say I like being away from my mate though," Bloodeyes retorted. I rolled my eyes at him and pushed him towards Nightpitch as I slapped a riding helmet on him.  
"Then the sooner you leave the sooner you get to see him again," I said as he climbed into the saddle as Nightpitch turned around and headed back out the door. "I'll see you two in a few days," I said as they squeezed out of the door and took to the air. I heard a roar from farther away than before and knew that they would probably return before the third exam began. I grabbed the corked sake bottle and took a few more swigs before I returned to the front of the group followed by Snowleopard and Blackpanther. I had just walked to the front when a kunai was thrown at me. I pulled out my white sword and put it up so that it would reflect the weapon so that it would hit the wall away from everyone. I waited for the sound of metal hitting metal, but it never came because seconds before the kunai would have hit my sword Snowleopard had reached over my shoulder and caught the kunai.  
"Why the hell would you save her Snowleopard?!" Honey yelled as she stepped forward to stand level with me and the others. I growled in my throat as I removed Snowleopard's arm from over my shoulder and removed the kunai from her hand.  
"Because unlike you and Rose she didn't betray me for the person who killed my mates and ran me out of my home," I snarled.  
"You betrayed the whole village when you killed the Okamikage!" she yelled back at me.  
"She never touched my father," Snowleopard hissed as she moved to stand in front of me. "If anything you should be thanking her for killing the man who killed him! Besides if it wasn't for her then my son and I would be dead because he would have killed me the same way he killed my father and my other kits!"  
"Snowleopard. You don't have to do this for me," I said as I pulled her back.  
"I don't care because I can't stand here and let them insult both you and my family. I can prove that he was a horrible person and clear your name, so why won't you let me do it?" she asked me.  
"Because that is the past just as your past with him is just that something in the past. Something that ended when I fulfilled my promise to you and your son when I killed Bone in that Shi no chosen fight. So you need to move on from the past and get on with your life no matter how hard it is or have you forgotten what he took from me?," I said softly. I placed my hand on her arm as I said that and gave it squeeze as I made her look me in the eyes. "Move on from what he did to you, no move on from what he did to all of us. Don't let him control your life instead make your life yours again. Make him lose the power he had over you and take control of your life again," I continued as I looked back at Gaara. "The same way I did if you have to, but try to stay true to who you are. I know I did, and I know for a fact that you can do the same thing. I'm over what happened all those years ago because I've already forgiven Honey and Rose for what they did to me and everyone else for that matter. So try to move on from it and get on with your life." I released her arm and walked to stand by my teammates and brothers as I waited for the next round to be decided.  
"When did you forgive them? I thought you were still mad about what they did to you all those years ago," Tigerstar said.  
"I hadn't forgiven them until Honey threw that kunai at me a second ago," I stated as Anko stepped forward.  
"Alright the next round will now be decided," she said as the board started spinning. When it stopped spinning it showed Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akado. I grabbed my cousin and pulled him aside as the rest of the people went up to the overhead railings to watch the fight. "Remember with your new marks and that chakra seal on you you're going to have to rely on your Taijutsu and no Sharingan either," I whispered to him. He nodded in understanding and I climbed up the stairs that were on the right side of the field. I stood a few feet from Gaara's team when he glared over at me, but I ignored it and actually moved closer to him the more he glared at me.  
"Are you both ready to begin?" Hayate asked Sasuke and Yoroi. They both nodded their consent and started the battle between them. I watched as Yoroi concentrated his chakra into his hands. Yoroi launched himself at Sasuke who was struck on the shoulder and I watched as some of his chakra and stamina was drained away.  
**'Sasuke can't let him touch him again. If he lets his opponent touch him more than a few times he'll lose all his chakra.**' I thought to Naruto as I saw the confused look on his face. I watched as Sasuke dodged the next attack and was swept off his feet as Yoroi pinned him down and started to suck out his chakra. I gripped the hand rail as I watched more of his chakra being drained away.  
"Sasuke! Get your head in the game and Take. Him. Out," I yelled as I saw that he had very little chakra left. I saw him grit his teeth and kick Yoroi in the stomach sending him into the wall directly below me.  
"Stop worrying cousin. I've got this," he panted as he teleported to be under Yoroi's head. He kicked up sending Yoroi into the air before he performed the Leaf Shadow Dance technique. He stopped midway into the move and coughed up blood. I saw his marks start to spread across his body as his dark ones tried to meet up with the white ones to unlock his true form and unlock the full potential of his animal form.  
** 'You moron! If you don't focus your marks are going to take over, so focus on something that brings you happiness and they should stop before they spread to your whole body. Quickly!'** I thought to him. I left my side of the link open in case I could see what he thought about. I saw the memory of the first time he saw Naruto when we were first in the academy together and how he helped him after a couple of older kids picked on him. The next one was of when he heard that he was on the same team as Naruto and finally when Naruto had accidentally kissed him that same day. I smiled as I saw the memories and watched as his marks returned to his shoulders and returned to their dormant states. I breathed a sigh of relief as he finished the move out by using the Lion Barrage Jutsu and slamming Yoroi in the chest and head.  
"The winner is Sasuke," Hayate said. I saw my cousin start to fall and teleported to catch him before he hit the ground.  
"Well done Sasuke," I said as I held him up. He was breathing hard and Kakashi walked over to us and I gave him Sasuke to hold as I checked something. "Hold him for me. I need to check something," I told him as the medics showed up.  
"Hey mom," Tigerspirit said as I joined her and the other medics with Yoroi.  
"Did he survive the blows?" I asked. She shook her head yes and I leaned down and whispered," Make sure he doesn't survive this. We can't have another spy in the village working for Orochimaru. One is enough to deal with at the moment. Alright?" She nodded her head and signaled that she would make sure he didn't survive. I thanked her and walked back over to Sasuke as Kakashi prepared to take him away.  
"I'll take care of it Kiba. He's in safe hands," he said as I checked my cousin over. I nodded my head, but didn't trust him so I made a clone and hid in his shadow as he took Sasuke away with him. I made my clone join my brothers, so that no one would be suspicious of me. I saw that the next round was Abumi Zaku vs. Shino Aburame. I made the clone stop and yell out to Shino," Hey do me a favor and make him pay for what he did. Alright?"  
"Of course. I'll make him pay for what he did to you sensei," Shino said as he walked to stand in front of Abumi. The clone nodded and went and stood beside my brothers. As I walked in Kakashi's shadow he took Sasuke down to the basement where there were more shadows, so I moved out of his shadow and hid behind a column. I watched as Kakashi started to draw some symbols on the ground and I recognized the symbols as those used in a seal that drew on the power of that person's will. I watched as he finished his writing and performed the hand signs to complete the seal and as he completed the seal on my cousin he told him how the seal worked.  
"So you can use Sealing Jutsu now Kakashi?" Orochimaru said as he walked out of the shadows. I released my white tiger form as he walked out and I prepared to make my appearance. "Long time no see." He walked forward until he was standing in the candle light and was only a few feet away from my friend and cousin.  
"What do you want with Sasuke?" Kakashi questioned him looking nervous.  
"You see Sasuke there is one of the last people that can use the Sharingan and I want that power. Besides the last person I had who had that power really did a number on my hideout when they escaped from my place," Orochimaru said as he continued to walk forward.  
"Take one more step and I'll remove your head this time around," I snarled as I walked into the light. My tail slowly swished back and forth as I threatened the Sannin.  
"So then you really were the one that killed Bone. It doesn't matter though you can't kill me," he said smirking.  
"Oh really? Why don't you look me in the eye and say that again," I hissed as I made eye contact with him. He stiffened before he doubled over and threw up on the floor. "I guess you're not as strong as you thought Orochimaru. Or did you forget that you taught me all of your most powerful Jutsus," I snarled at him. I saw him shake in fear and I laughed at his weakness the same way he once laughed at mine. "Now look whose weak snake. Your puny fear jutsu can't affect me at all anymore and I'll enjoy the day that I get to end your traitorous life, but you won't die yet. Now leave and know that the only reason you're still breathing is because I let you leave alive," I hissed as I walked towards him.  
"You'll pay for this Whitetigerstar. All that matters is that I will have your cousin and the Sharingan," he said before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.  
"And that's where he's wrong. Those marks on my cousin aren't his own, but he's right about your seal it won't stop his powers. Just look at the marks and you'll see what I mean," I said to Kakashi as I released my tiger form and returned to my human from. He looked confused, but when he looked at my cousin he saw that the seal he had placed on him had already been broken.  
"How? That seal was used to seal the same mark on someone else, so why didn't it work?" he asked.  
"Because he didn't put that curse seal on him. That seal is part of who Sasuke is and because of his spiritual power as a wolf he is stronger than you or anyone else I haven't trained myself," I snarled. Kakashi looked surprised and I just picked up my cousin and carried him out of the basement as I cradled him to my chest in a way that made him look dead. I hear Kakashi follow me up the stairs where we were met by Tigerspirit and her medic team. "Take good care of him. He has someone waiting for him to get better," I told her as she took him from me.  
"Of course. I'll make sure to place a guard around his room as well," Tigerspirit said as she took Sasuke away followed by Kakashi. I watched them leave and turned to face the stadium as I saw an image of Shino using his bugs to destroy Abumi's arms and smirked at how easily one of Orochimaru's subordinates was taken out. I walked towards the arena as soon as Kakashi teleported back to my team. I sighed as I heard the sound of the electronic board choosing the next pair of opponents. I saw the board flash through my mind as my clone looked at it. It said Kankuro Subaku vs. Tsurugi Misumi. I walked forward and another image flashed through my mind of a jar filled with poison being slipped into Kankuro's suit. I smiled coming to a stop before I could be seen by anyone in the arena or who was watching the match.  
{Kira's POV}  
"You're going to have to be faster if you want to beat me," Misumi said wrapping himself around Kankuro. I smirked evilly as I heard the sound of the poison jar break as Misumi started to squeeze the life out of Kankuro before snapping his neck. Kankuro's head hung forward and Misumi smirked before Kankuro's head spun all the way around to stare at him. Misumi looked shocked when Kankuro's ribs burst out of his back and wrapped around Misumi forcing the shards of the poisonous jar into his flesh before slowly squeezing the life out of Misumi who gave a gasp of pain as his bones were ground into dust. As Hayate called the match I walked out of the shadows and over to the body before checking for signs of life. I smiled in a cruel and deranged way when I found a slight pulse in Misumi before I stuck my tongue out and slowly ran it over my canines in a hungry way.  
"Well it seems you've survived this fight traitor. Not that it matters the poison I had my clone slip into Crow's clothes before the fight began will kill you before the medics can even get here," I said. I stood up as I wrapped my hand around his throat before pulling his limp body up to a stand before throwing him into the air with little effort. I heard someone rush towards me as I lifted one hand and blocked the kick that was aimed at me head. "You'll have to be faster than that if you want to land a hit on my or take my new found training dummy," I said looking at the person who had attacked me. I barred my fangs in a bloodthirsty way as I looked at Guy.  
"You should know better than to treat your opponent like a thing when they've given their best in the fight," Guy said as I easily threw him away from me. I gave him another bloodthirsty smile before grabbing Misumi out of the air before teleporting him out of the arena.  
"I would agree with you Guy sensei, but I don't see traitors as people who deserve mercy or the treatment of a real opponent. Have you already forgotten what I did to the person who ruined my life?" I questioned giving him an innocent smile. He looked taken aback as I took a threatening step towards him a deranged look in my eyes. "I'm not very forgiving and I have to say I don't like it when weak prey interrupts my play time with Master's body."  
"Kira. Leave Guy alone," a female voice called. I stopped and smirked before turning to look at the person who had spoken.  
"I would worry more about you apprentice. After all you're fighting in the next round and I expect you to win without using your other form or powers that Master Kiba decided to give to you." I appeared beside the girl and wrapping an arm around her shoulders as I pointed to the screen. "Oh and Sakura I expect you to treat my student the same way you would treat someone who was threatening Sasuke." I looked over at the pinkette who jerked back in surprise before hesitantly nodding her head. I gave her one of my signature smiles before running my tongue over my canines before I turned to look over at the other side of the ring. I winced when I locked eyes with the Shukaku Jinchuuriki, but kept my gaze held steady with his. Neither of us took our eyes off the other and I smiled at him when I adjusted to his hate filled gaze. As Sakura and her opponent headed down to the battlefield I grabbed her opponent and pulled her back.  
"What is it Kira-sama?" she asked. I smiled and leaned in close to her when I realized that TenTen was watching us.  
"I forgot to tell you that I sealed off your other spirit to make sure that this would be a fair fight. Besides I couldn't have you trying to use it in battle before you're ready now could I Ino?" Ino looked back at me before giving a quick nod of her head as she turned away from me. I smirked at her back and looked across the arena floor locking my gaze on the three sand ninja. I ran my tongue over my canines as I looked at the team and thought about what my Master had gone through for them and so many others.  
"Now you may begin you match," Hayate said signaling for the match to begin. I removed my gaze from the Sand Genin and watched as Ino jumped away from Sakura. Sakura smirked at the blonde and started to taunt her with their past and the fact that she was on Sasuke's team instead of Ino. Ino just stared back at her with scorn present on her face. Sakura took the opportunity to take her head band of and I felt shock run through my link with Kiba-chan.  
**'Interesting it seems that Sakura has finally decided to take our apprentice and friend seriously. I never thought that she would move her head band for Ino. Sakura is full of surprises lately.'** Kiba-chan said to me. I smirked and tilted my head in a cocky manner and looked at my apprentice in approval as she mirrored Sakura's last movement of removing her headband and placing it on her forehead the same way Sakura had.  
"Not that it matters. Ino should be able to easily defeat that weakling. Ino doesn't need to use her spirit to defeat Sakura all she really needs is an opening to get in one good hit if she wants to win. Hey Ino," I called. Sakura and Ino turned their heads to face me as well as many of the others in the room. I flared my black wings out behind me taunting the blonde with the fact that I could use my spirit freely, but she was unable to do so. "Make this a good fight and I promise our next training session won't be nearly as hard as the last few were. If you win I'll even give you time off to go on a date." Ino's eyes widened at the thought of getting time off for a date before she smiled up at me.  
"Of course Kira-sensei. I look forward to the time off from training. I don't suppose Difenda-sensei would be willing to give my mate some time off as well?" Ino asked looking up at me.  
"Of course she will. You know the rules about mates and time off. If one of you gets time off then so does the other of course the teachers must allow it as well, but not even Kiba-sama is against this little arrangement and seems to think it will give you the motivation to defeat Sakura. I look forward to seeing the outcome of this match. Good luck my apprentice," I said running my tongue over my canines again. Ino looked back at me and smiled before turning back to Sakura ready for a fight. I released my hold on Kiba's body as she took control once again. I ran my tongue over my canines one more time before they shrank back to their normal size which were still larger than average for a human.  
{Kiba's POV}  
I shrugged my shoulders and flared my wings before folding both so that they were wrapped around my body like a shield or cloak. I watched as Sakura and Ino started to trade blows and opened my link to one of my closest apprentices. I saw memories of when she and Sakura were close friends back when we were in the academy together. I smiled at the memories as I thought of when I would watch how close the two of them were. I smiled in a bitter way as I remembered when the two of them followed me to my house one day and stumbled upon me in the middle of fighting with a rogue dragon who had been attacked by my enemies and forced into becoming a being of evil. We were only about seven at the time.  
{_Flashback}_  
_The two of them had almost been crushed to death when the dragon jumped over me and attacked them. I had barely been able to stop the claws, but in doing so I had to change into my weredragon form. In the end when I had defeated the dragon and changed back the two of them looked pretty frightened of me. Sakura took off as soon as she saw me change back to my human and the next day there were rumors about me being some kind of demon. I ignored most of the people and walked through the halls as people whispered about me. Later that same day I was heading home and heard someone following me, so I decided to go to a remote area in case it was one of my enemies. A few minutes later I was standing in a glade prepared to attack the person who was following me._  
_ "You can come out now. I know you're there," I called. I heard something rustle behind me before a familiar scent wafted towards me. "What do you want Ino?" I asked turning towards her. She looked nervous and I gave her a friendly smile showing that I meant her no harm. She chewed on her lip for a few seconds before hesitantly making her way towards me before she stopped a few feet away from me._  
_"I wanted you to know that I didn't start those rumors about you being a demon. I just wanted to make sure that you knew that," Ino said. I smiled at the girl and motioned her closure as I sat down on the ground. She hesitated for a few seconds before sitting next to me._  
_"I know Ino. I don't really care, but I'm glad you had the courage to come and tell me yourself. Don't worry I promise I won't hurt you or your family if you decide to tell people what you saw. They were bound to find out eventually, so go ahead and tell everyone that I'm a demon or whatever. All that matters to me is that my loved ones know that I'm not a demon. Besides I have my clan mates to take the place of those who wish to see me fail," I whispered motioning to the trees around us. Ino looked around and noticed that we were being watched by an assortment of wolves, tigers, and other animals. She shifted closer to me when one of them took a step forward and slowly made their way towards us. I gently squeezed her arm as the wolf sniffed at the girl in curiosity. "Don't worry Wolfspirit looks intimidating, but he's a real sweetheart I promise."_  
_ "All right. I trust you Kiba-chan," Ino said as she hesitantly reached out a hand towards my youngest son. He sniffed her hand before moving away to be replaced by a black scaled forehead. Ino almost jerked back, but left her hand there as Nightpitch blew a small stream of air over us. I smiled at her and gently nudged Ino. She stared at Nightpitch as the dragon pulled her head back and curled herself around the two of us. Ino continued to stare at the dragon as she rested her head in my lap letting me scratch the ridge above her eye making her hum in happiness._  
_ "It's alright Ino. Nightpitch won't try to hurt you. She is my dragon and I am her rider, friend, and leader. She's really sweet when you get to know her and it seems she has already taken a liking to you and your spirit," I said gently stroking the ridges on Nightpitch's neck. Ino looked hesitant again as she slowly leaned back to rest against Nightpitch's side. Nightpitch lifted her head and press her snot against the blonde's forehead showing that she wouldn't harm the child. "See, I told you she wouldn't hurt you. I have to say I'm a little surprised to see her acting like this. She usually refuses to interact with anyone outside of the clan, so you're something special Ino." Ino rested her hand on Nightpitch's snout and absentmindedly began to run her hand over the dragon. I smiled before I stood up and swung myself onto Nightpitch's back before staring up at the sky. I felt Kira stir within me and growled at her to leave me and the others alone. She settled down again as I ran a hand through my hair with a sigh of frustration._  
_ "Hey Kiba-chan, can I ask you something?" Ino asked. I looked down at her and nodded waiting for her to continue. "You don't really like me do you?" I stared at the girl for a few seconds before flipping myself so that I was lying on my stomach looking down at her._  
_ "Honestly, I do like you Ino. I mean sure you're full of yourself and you chase after my cousin when he obviously isn't interested in you, but otherwise I think you're a good person. I saw what you did for Sakura when those kids tried to make fun of her and when I heard them insulting you later I defended you. You're someone I would be proud to call friend, ally, or clan mate. Heck I could even call you sister and be proud of it because I can see that deep within you you're someone I could come to rely on. It might take time on my end, but I would defiantly put in the effort needed to get you to trust me," I said in all seriousness._  
_ "Do you really mean that?" she whispered with pure joy in her voice. I smiled and nodded my head enthusiastically. Her face broke out into a large grin before I reached out a hand and pulled her onto Nightpitch's back. She hugged me as soon as she was beside me and I laughed at her before ruffling her hair playfully._  
_ "Yeah, I meant that and I also mean what I'm about to ask you. Ino, do you want to train to become a warrior like me and some of my other friends?" I asked._  
_ "You mean like what you did when you fought that dragon?"_  
_ "Yes. Over the years I have found a way to change a normal person like you into someone like me. It's a way to unlock your spirit, but I never know who is going to get what spirit. I only have the power to guess what animal spirit each person will get. Again I'll warn you that this is going to be hard for you to go through, but if you're sure about becoming like me than I'll be happy to turn you," I answered never letting my eyes wander from her own. She nervously bit her lip and I could see the indecision in her blue eyes._  
_ "Do I have to decide right now?" she questioned. I gently smiled at her before squeezing her arm in comfort._  
_"Of course not. Take all the time you need. I'm sure that either way you'll make a great kunoichi. I suggest that we keep our friendship hidden from your friends though. I doubt that many of them would approve of us being friends," I said looking the girl in the eyes. She nodded and extended her pinky finger towards me._  
_"Pinky promise that we'll always be friends no matter what," she said. I smiled and wrapped my own pinky around hers before promising to stay her friend no matter what._


End file.
